Skunk Works came about in 1943 as Lockheed (as they were know as then) was working on the first jet fighter. Kelly Johnson was a young engineer on this program. He outlined his 14 rules & practices to guide the teams. Some of the key points include:
- The manager should have practical control of the program (think product owner)
- Use a small number of good people
- Use very simple drawings with flexibility for making changes
- Minimize reporting to what is important
- Mutual trust between the military project organization and the contractor
Now some of the other rules related to the relationship between the vendor and the government, but this list sounds similar to some points in the Agile Manifesto and Guiding Principles. I don't know if the work of Kelly Johnson influenced the people that wrote the manifesto, but it's clear the ideas have been around for a while. And as far as a track record, the original fighter plane (XP-80) was designed and built in 143 days, and the U-2 has been operational for almost 60 years.
4 comments:
20th century military seems to have been a hotbed of anticipating agile approaches. You may be interested in Agile methods in Prussian military doctrine
Guy
It's starting to look like the 20th century military was a hotbed of anticipating agile approaches. Check out Agile methods in Prussian military doctrine.
Guy
Yes! Successful outcome focussed PMs have been following Agile principles for decades, and they have often been derided by sceptics. This lack of support comes from many quarters, not just the methodology folk, but importantly the line business as Agile challenges the current organisation structure and power of line business managers.
Definitely agree that these commonalities are a good thing.
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