Skunk Works: When There Was no Agile

"It is unfortunate that people dealing with computers often have little interest in the history of their subject. As a result, many concepts and ideas are propagated and advertised as 
being new, which existed decades ago, perhaps under different terminology." 

Skunk Works were Agile with no hype.

I don't like the hype around anything, whether Yohimbe or Agile. 

But, perhaps, there is an abundance of consultants (one of which I'm also trying to become) and a shortage of new ideas. So, old things get polished, rebranded, and remarketed.

I'm not trying to diminish the notion of agility; just pointing out that it's been with us since the 1940s, so there's no point to start worshipping it suddenly. 

There are many great concepts around which we can discover and reenergize ourselves before someone starts selling them to us with a new label and premium price tag.    

How Skunk Works started

The Skunk Works division was formed in 1943 by Lockheed Martin to build America's first jet fighter.  
The Skunk Works logo
The mission was secretive and seemingly impossible to accomplish:
  • the jet needed to be ready in 180 days;
  • it had to fly at 600 miles per hour – 200 miles per hour faster than the current Lockheed P-38 propeller plane;
  • there was no floor space left for the project, as all the facilities were accommodating Lockheed's 24/7 production of current planes;
  • the budget was extremely tight.
Eventually, the team of only 23 handpicked engineers and 30 mechanics turned the first prototype out in 143 days, creating the P-80 Shooting Star.

The encyclopedic concept of "a small laboratory or department of a large company used to do scientific research or develop new products" became famous. It's been continuously used to develop cutting-edge military jets and unmanned systems for many decades under the official name of Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs.

Working principles of the Skunk Works team

Chief Engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson managed the project team and created the new working model. Kelly's vision is summarized in 14 rules that are fully disclosed on Lockheed Martin's website. 

This is the summary of Skunk Works' principles:
  • Strong leadership: designate a leader and give them complete control of the project in all aspects. 
  • Autonomous, co-located, and changed-up team structure: allow the Skunk Works leader to break away from the parent organization with a small tiger team of handpicked, talented people: the smaller the team, the more productive the project. The team should be able to co-locate in a small office. Co-location reinforces strong and productive team dynamics. 
  • High level of secrecy: the project's location, subject, and progress must remain a secret to the rest of the organization. Even if the nature of your product is not top-secret, let your teamwork run under the radar, unconstrained by executive interference, to avoid unwanted delays. 
  • Freedom from bureaucracy: there must be a minimum number of reports, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.
  • Real-time adjustments: you need to set up a simple drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes. 
  • Trustful relationships with contractors must be mutual trust, close cooperation, and day-to-day liaison with contractors.
  • Performance-based reward: No more hierarchical reward system based on several subordinates.
To summarize the above, Skunk Works delivered development projects led by the autocratic manager ("CEO of the effort") and driven by a small, fully dedicated, and responsible team with no specific plan and a high level of flexibility and associated risks, working on prototypes with real-time adjustments.

Agile may look like a Skunk Works facelift.

In the natural course of evolution and changing business environment, the concept of Skunk Works required adjustments. The "innovation by exception" is detached from a company's core, while modern business requires deeply integrated continuous innovation. 

Furthermore, Skunk Works employees experienced the Robison Crusoe effect, where they couldn't integrate into the everyday business environment.

Yet, Skunk Works represents a functional organizational solution for managing exploration and quickly and effectively transforming inventions into patents and prototypes.

Most importantly, it proves that we better look back on past success stories for valuable ideas and concepts instead of waiting for "cutting edge" and "paradigm shift" old ponies with new tricks. 

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More information on this and other exciting topics could be found in "The Technology Procurement Handbook." It represents 23 years of experience, billions of dollars worth of successful sourcing projects, and 1000s hours spent on research, analysis, and content creation for the most demanding professional readers.
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