Goodbye Chickens & Pigs

  Scrum   ProjectsAtWork  

The “chicken and pig” lore of Scrum is no longer part of the updated Scrum Guide. This is a welcome change, and should be helpful as practitioners go about implementing Scrum on projects — and explaining it to stakeholders throughout the organization.

Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber recently published an update to The Scrum Guide, the definitive guide to Scrum. Many of the changes they made aimed to better define the rules of the game, and remove situational tactics. Some changes were large in scope and others less apparent. One particular change was arguably small and cosmetic, but it really has significance in my opinion.

Every Scrum practitioner has heard the fable of the chicken and the pigs. Schwaber created the metaphor in the early days of Scrum, and it has been used repeatedly to separate the people who are committed to the project from the people who are simply involved. Over the years, the labels have generated their share of controversy. Some argue that the terms are harmful to the process because they are derogatory. Others say that the negative connotation conjures a power dynamic that drives negative behavior. Either way, you won't find any references to animals, barnyard or otherwise, in the new Scrum Guide.

Why was it removed? Ken and Jeff felt it was better to discuss accountability directly in the Scrum Guide, as opposed to through metaphor. …

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