Skunk Works rapid development model

E805238

The Skunk Works rapid development model is an innovative aerospace engineering and project management approach that emphasizes small, highly skilled teams, streamlined processes, and fast, secretive development cycles to deliver advanced technologies quickly.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf aerospace engineering methodology
project management approach
rapid development model
aimsFor rapid delivery of advanced technologies
appliedTo advanced aircraft programs
classified defense projects
associatedWith Lockheed Martin Skunk Works NERFINISHED
characterizedBy direct access to senior sponsors
high autonomy for teams
minimal bureaucracy
short decision chains
tight security and secrecy
contrastsWith highly bureaucratic project management models
traditional large-scale defense acquisition processes
emphasizes fast development cycles
highly skilled personnel
secretive development cycles
small teams
streamlined processes
encourages collocated teams
early testing and validation
informal communication
focusesOn advanced technology development
goal increase innovation speed
reduce development cost
reduce development time
influenced modern agile development practices in aerospace
rapid prototyping approaches in defense R&D
limits documentation to essentials
external oversight
manages scope tightly
optimizesFor innovation over standardization
speed over process completeness
originatedInIndustry aerospace industry
requires clear mission definition
stable funding and sponsorship
strong technical leadership
riskProfile accepts higher technical risk for schedule gains
securityModel need-to-know information sharing
supports concurrent engineering
iterative prototyping
risk-tolerant experimentation
teamSize kept intentionally small
uses parallel development of subsystems
rapid prototyping
small cross-functional teams

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Clarence Johnson notableConcept Skunk Works rapid development model