I worked with a really talented engineer at a small s/u, who had previously worked at Lockheed. He told a story about a manager of a missile program, who was responsible for managing & executing launch tests. When notified about an upcoming test, he would take off a few days before the launch, and the day of the launch itself. Such was his confidence in the program, procedures, and his crew. (I am sure I have some minor details incorrect). Different fields, but wouldn't that be an amazing place to get to for s/w projects, as opposed to this chaos.