Why should you run skunkworks projects?

When small teams move fast, big things happen

At JFDI, we believe that some of the best ideas do not start with a board meeting; they begin with a “what if?” That spark of curiosity is why we nurture the culture of one of our favourite methods: the skunkworks project.

A skunkworks is a small, focused team that steps outside the usual development process to prove what the art of the possible is. It is a pure spirit of innovation, guided by experience, without bureaucracy. When done right, it can be truly transformative.

The origin of “skunkworks” and why it still matters

The term originates from Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs in the 1940s, where a small team secretly built cutting-edge aircraft faster than anyone thought possible. Their success was a direct result of trust, autonomy, and focus.

Fast-forward to today, all businesses, no matter how big or small, have one challenge in common. The pace of change is relentless, but the internal process is slower than ever. That is why we proactively enable skunkworks here at JFDI. Not just in R&D, but in digital transformation and process automation as well.

What a skunkworks project looks like at JFDI

We use skunkworks projects when a challenge does not fit the market mould or when we want to explore some unconventional solutions. When this kind of opportunity presents itself, we form a small, cross-functional team and give them one clear mission: prove the idea quickly.

Please read our recent insight on a better hot-desk and meeting-room booking system when nothing on the market would fit. Our Technical Director, Joel Jeffery, established a skunkworks team, utilised the Microsoft SharePoint Framework, and delivered a fully functional prototype. That is what happens when freedom meets focus.

Why skunkworks work

• Speed without shortcuts – A small, empowered team
• Focused scope – One problem, one prototype, one outcome
• Creative ownership – Team members are invested because they are trusted
• Proof through doing – The output is a live system people can use
• Lower risk, higher insight – Even a failed prototype is a learning experience

How to make this method work for you?

It is all about creating the right environment. Here is what we have learned:

• Encourage exposure
• Start with an important problem to solve
• Keep the team small
• Timebox the work
• Allow creativity and lateral thinking

Disciplined creative methodology

People often confuse speed with recklessness. In the case of skunkworks projects, the main denominator is clarity. Developers and engineers make quick progress because they can make decisions.

This is how we can turn ideas into working systems quickly without losing the engineering discipline for which we are known. That is because problems don’t need more meetings. They just need someone to Just F’ing Do It.