
Boeing switched to Agile development for T-X program - rpiguy
https://aviationweek.com/defense/inside-boeing-s-secret-formula-win-t-x
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rpiguy
Interesting that agile was a key component in what allowed Boeing to underbid
all their competitors on the T-X advanced trainer program and still produce a
profitable aircraft:

"Another factor was adopting an agile approach to software development.
Instead of building up large blocks of software over several months or even
years, the functions are broken down into smaller increments that are
integrated at the system level every two months.

“This had us basically releasing software every eight weeks,” Niewald said.
“By doing this in such a disciplined manner at a frequency it allowed us to
reduce our software [lines of code] by 50% [compared to a traditional aircraft
development program].”

The approach allowed Boeing to build and fly two aircraft within three years
of the program launch in 2013. When this journalist referred to the two T-X
aircraft built so far as “prototypes," implying they don’t represent the
production standard, a Boeing spokesperson stepped in to point out that they
are not considered prototypes internally"

