Executives are more likely to accept and help fund a skunk works if the CIO can show how the project's goals are aligned with corporate objectives.

Experts advise keeping tabs on a skunk works but stopping short of imposing a schedule. "The nature of research is uncertain. It's hard to predict when you'll discover something," says Jeffrey Kaplan, a director in the Washington office of PRTM Management Consultants and author of the book Strategic IT Portfolio Management (PTRM Inc, 2005).

At Georgia-Pacific, Dallas required his skunk works to come back with the results of a hands-on test in the first 60 days. For example, a skunk works team that was developing radio frequency identification technology several years ago had to apply RFID tags and determine what percentage had been successfully read by the sensors. The skunk works squads knew that without that first deliverable, which had to be produced for less than US$50,000, their project could be axed. "You would be amazed by how creative that would make people," says Dallas. "Depending on the technology, they'd go out and partner with a vendor, and the vendor would get creative with them."

When is a skunk works endeavor ready to become a legitimate project? "If you're starting to develop code and a prototype, you're on the fringe of a legitimate project," says Kaplan. But first, be sure that you have a proposed solution that meets a clear need and is viable, given technological and funding limitations.

Funding the Works