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I was saddened today to hear of the passing of George Heilmeier.  He was the Director of DARPA when I worked there in the mid-70's.  However, it seems almost every discussion makes note of what became known as his catechism, a set of questions that he expected to see answered in every so-called ARPA Order (the document which authorized funding for each project).  In the Strategic Technology Office where I worked, I was familiar with a four question version:  What's the Trick? What's the Plan?  Who Cares? So What?  My book contains more discussion of each.  I didn't realize it at the time, but apparently this was quite a change from prior practice at DARPA.  Nevertheless, I have always found it to be an extremely good checklist for any development proposal.

From other reminiscing sources, the full catechism had nine questions:
  1. What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.  What is the problem?  Why is it hard?
  2. How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
  3. What's new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
  4. Who cares?
  5. If you're successful, what difference will it make?   What impact will success have?  How will it be measured?
  6. What are the risks and the payoffs?
  7. How much will it cost?
  8. How long will it take?
  9. What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success?  How will progress be measured?
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I developed large-scale systems, both commercial and aerospace, for 40+ years.  There were lessons learned, but the joy of successes more than offset a few pains.  Hopefully, my experienced counsel will help yours be mostly fun.

Now, I'm often golfing and riding my bike as seen above.  I'm the handsome dude in the brown leather jacket near the middle.

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