Klingon Rules for Rapid Prototyping

By
Thought-Captain K'anttiah Tai Hazar, Imperial Klingon Vessel AMAR

Rapid Prototyping is combat in a different arena. More empires have been conquered by slide rules than bat-leths.
Rapid Prototyping is the Klingon way: It offers great rewards for those who do not fear to risk all. As the poet said, "BlHeghvlpchugh blHeghpu'!" ("If you are afraid to die, then you have already died").
Do not allow the High Council to dictate the weapon's design. They identify needs, not solutions.
Once requirements are established, the High Council will send a young Engineer-Warrior to act on their behalf. Welcome the man as one of your own clan... his honor is now entwined with your own. Grant him the password to the armory, give him the key to the store of Romulan Ale, hide nothing from him.
No matter their true age, the heart of a young warrior must beat in the breasts of Engineer-Warriors. Rapid Prototyping is no place for old men who mutter of past battles in their blood wine, nor for youths who lack ambition or confidence.
The best answer to objections is victory, and the best route to victory is speed. "aqStaHvlS wa' ram loS Sad Hugh SljlaH qetbogh loD!" ("Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man").
However, while quality may be sacrificed for faster development, the essential soul of the weapon must be untouched. A half-tempered blade can be produced faster, but will betray the warrior who wields it. Establish the minimum quality necessary, and do not permit compromises beyond that point.
Just as no commander uses chains to control men in combat, Engineer-Warriors must be unfettered by bureaucracy. They must make their own decisions; they must be given the freedom to acquire tools and materials without hindrance.
Even so, vigilance is needed The Warrior-Commander must keep his bat-leth sharp for any signs of timidity or caution in those under his command.
One combat test is worth twenty design meetings. Nothing is settled by contemplation or "peer review". As the proverb says, "Act, and you shall have dinner. Think, and you shall be dinner." Many a Critical Design Review on Vulcan has been interupted by a Bird of Prey testing weapons whose development began well after the Vulcanian Systems Requirements Review.
PowerPoint is like a damp rag used to clean blood off one's tunic: A tool to stave off vermin. Engineer-Warriors should only use PowerPoint when the High Council or the Warrior-Commander's superiors become too strident.
While the Warrior-Commander may keep a few Ferengis to handle administrative and accounting issues, the Ferengi must never be allowed to forget who is in charge.
No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. Setbacks are to be expected... "rut ylHmey ghom Hoch!" ("Everyone encounters tribbles occasionally"). The mark of a true Engineer-Warrior is how one recovers from them.
There is no honor in individual combat by Engineer-Warriors. All must work as one for victory. "nlteb Qob aqD jum 'e' chaw'be' Suvw!" ("A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone.")
One does not practice combat forms in the marketplace, and neither should Engineer-Warriors perform their craft in public view. Not only is there danger from the enemy, but from within one's own forces as well.. .those who think they have a better solution, those who feel that the specified performance is inadequate, politicians from the High Council, and the Ferengi of the Warrior-Commander's supervisors who wish to argue the expenditure of every bar of latinum. "If you do not wish something said.. .then do not say it!"

Qapla'!