Pigs And Chickens

What Does Pigs And Chickens Mean?

Pigs and chickens was a term used in Scrum software development to describe the two different perspectives that developers and business stakeholders were thought to hold in sprint planning meetings, daily stand-ups and retrospectives.

In this metaphor, software developers held the pig's point of view and business stakeholders held the chicken's point of view.

The term is derived from a fable: One day, a chicken suggested to his friend, the pig, that they should open a restaurant. The pig agreed and asked what the name of the restaurant should be. The chicken suggested the name "Ham and Eggs." The pig objected to the restaurant's name because it implied that his head was the only head on the chopping block.

Techopedia Explains Pigs And Chickens

Although the pigs and chickens metaphor was originally meant to be humorous, the term quickly became controversial. Objections to the term were that:

1. Animal labels are derogatory.

2. The metaphor failed to recognize the high value that project owners and business stakeholders contribute to a software development project's success.

3. The labels inspired a negative power dynamic in Scrum meetings when pigs were allowed to talk but chickens were not.