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Scrum terminology - Pigs and chickens?

Last post 06:42 pm November 3, 2017 by Edwin Armstrong
4 replies
Edwin Armstrong
05:14 pm November 2, 2017

So I've been wondering for a while whether 'pigs' and 'chickens' are official Scrum terminology? Only I've heard colleagues use the terms and also seen various references online ie here for example - http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/pigs-and-chickens

However there is no mention of pigs and chickens in the official Scrum guide. All the Scrum guide states is "The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Development Team members participate in the Daily Scrum." No mention of any farmyard animals! 

Am I right in thinking this is old terminology that has since been dropped?

Another term I've also heard used is 'Scrum ceremony'. But again not mentioned in the official Scrum guide...

Curtis Slough
08:43 pm November 2, 2017

This seems old and outdated. 

"Ceremony" and "Event" mean the same thing just a different term.

Demerson Neves
10:37 pm November 2, 2017

Edwin,

Although the words "ceremony" and "event" have an interchangeable meaning, the Scrum Guide refers to "event" only and that has been the term since the first version of Scrum.

Now, pigs and chickens, on the other hand, are very old terms found on the Scrum Guide years ago. They were just a reference to the fable of a chicken and a pig discussing a business they were to open together, where the chicken would provide the eggs and the pig, the bacon. The pig refuses and says he would not do it as, in this venture, he would be committed, while the chicken would only be involved. That was a bit folkloric and caused mixed reactions, so it was eventually dropped.

If you want to see more revisions in the Scrum Guide, check out: http://www.scrumguides.org/revisions.html

Cheers,

Demerson

Edwin Armstrong
06:29 pm November 3, 2017

Thanks Demerson. Interesting to see the revision history for the Scrum Guide and how many revisions there have been. Incidentally there is going to be another update next Tuesday - https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-guide-update

Edwin Armstrong
06:42 pm November 3, 2017

So if 'ceremony' is not Scrum then where did the word come from? Is it more of a generic Agile term?

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