"Kelly Johnson and the products of his famous Skunk Works epitomize the highest and finest goal of our society, the goal of excellence. His record of design achievement in aviation is both incomparable and virtually incredible. Any one of his many airplane designs would have honored any individual's career."
― President Lyndon B. Johnson
Kelly's Rules for Skunk Works Engineering
Rule No. 1
The Skunk Works' program manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher.
Rule No. 2
Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the customer and industry.
Rule No. 3
The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10 percent to 25 percent compared to the so-called normal systems).
Rule No. 4
A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.
Rule No. 5
There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.
Rule No. 6
There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and committed but also projected costs to the conclusion of the program. Don't have the books ninety days late and don't surprise the customer with sudden overruns.
Rule No. 7
The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than public sector ones.
Rule No. 8
The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works meets the intent of existing government requirements and should be used on new projects. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to the subcontractors and vendors. Don't duplicate so much inspection.
Rule No. 9
The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product. He can and must test it in the initial stages. If he doesn't, he rapidly loses his competency to design other products in the same category.
Rule No. 10
The specification applying to the hardware must be agreed to in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended.
Rule No. 11
Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.
Rule No. 12
There must be absolute mutual trust between the client or governmental organization and the contractor with very close liaison on a day-to-day basis. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum.
Rule No. 13
Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.
Rule No. 14
Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay, not simply related to the number of personnel supervised.
Rule No. 15
The "unwritten rule" . . .Never deal with the Navy
― President Lyndon B. Johnson
Kelly's Rules for Skunk Works Engineering
Rule No. 1
The Skunk Works' program manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher.
Rule No. 2
Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the customer and industry.
Rule No. 3
The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10 percent to 25 percent compared to the so-called normal systems).
Rule No. 4
A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.
Rule No. 5
There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.
Rule No. 6
There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and committed but also projected costs to the conclusion of the program. Don't have the books ninety days late and don't surprise the customer with sudden overruns.
Rule No. 7
The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than public sector ones.
Rule No. 8
The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works meets the intent of existing government requirements and should be used on new projects. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to the subcontractors and vendors. Don't duplicate so much inspection.
Rule No. 9
The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product. He can and must test it in the initial stages. If he doesn't, he rapidly loses his competency to design other products in the same category.
Rule No. 10
The specification applying to the hardware must be agreed to in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended.
Rule No. 11
Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.
Rule No. 12
There must be absolute mutual trust between the client or governmental organization and the contractor with very close liaison on a day-to-day basis. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum.
Rule No. 13
Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.
Rule No. 14
Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay, not simply related to the number of personnel supervised.
Rule No. 15
The "unwritten rule" . . .Never deal with the Navy
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