The fable of The Chicken and the Pig is about commitment to a project or cause. The fable is referenced to define two types of project members by the scrum agile management system: pigs, who are totally committed to the project and accountable for its outcome, and chickens, who consult on the project and are informed of its progress. By extension, a rooster or gamecock, can be defined as a person who struts around offering uninformed, unhelpful opinions. This analogy is based upon the pig being able to provide bacon (a sacrificial offering, for which the pig must die in order to provide) versus a chicken which provides eggs (non-sacrificial). A successful project needs both chickens and pigs (roosters are seen as unproductive). However, given the sacrifice required of being a pig—forswearing other projects and opportunities—they can be difficult to collect. Thus, the construction of a successful project-team must ensure that the project has sufficient “pigs” and that they are empowered to drive the project in return for committing to and taking accountability for it. For a Scrum project, Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Team are considered as people who are committed to the project while customers and executive management are considered as involved but not committed to the project. [Wikipedia/Creative Commons]
