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What is Schedule Chicken?

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Schedule chicken is a project management condition in which multiple teams realize that they are behind schedule but delay admitting this fact because they're hoping someone else will admit it first. It is an analogy to an extremely dangerous game known as Chicken that appears in film, fiction and game theory. The game has two drivers speeding towards each other on a highway to see who swerves out of the way first. The first to swerve is a chicken, a slang term for a coward.
When a project manager senses schedule chicken they might have separate meetings with each team to try to get them to admit they're behind. In such a scenario, the project manager might express strong confidence that other teams are on schedule.
Overview: Schedule Chicken
Type
Definition
When multiple teams are behind schedule but none wants to be the first to admit it.
Risk
Project managers and teams may lose credibility by pretending everything is on schedule until the last second.
Related Concepts

Project Management

This is the complete list of articles we have written about project management.
Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance Testing
Actual Cost
Agile
Assumptions
Baseline
Basis Of Estimate
Behavioral Requirements
Burndown Chart
Change Control
Change Control Board
Change Fatigue
Change Request
Concept Note
Cone Of Uncertainty
Constraints
Corrective Action
Cost Baseline
Cost Contingency
Cost Control
Cost Overrun
Cost Variance
Defect
Defect Density
Definition Of Done
Deliverable
Document Control
Earned Value
Escalation
Estimate At Completion
Estimate To Complete
Estimates
Feasibility Analysis
Fudge Factor
Full-Time Equivalent
Human Factors
Issue Management
Lead Time
Lessons Learned
Level Of Effort
Milestone
Opportunity Study
Out Of Scope
Parametric Estimate
Phased Implementation
Planned Value
Principles
Process
Program Management
Project Charter
Project Communication
Project Complexity
Project Concept
Project Controls
Project Failure
Project Goals
Project Management
Project Metrics
Project Planning
Project Productivity
Project Proposal
Project Risk
Regression Testing
Requirements
Requirements Quality
Return On Investment
RFP
Risk Register
Schedule Baseline
Schedule Chicken
Scope
Scope Baseline
Scope Creep
Scrum
Set Up To Fail
Smoke Testing
Specifications
Sponsor
Sprint
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Management
Statement Of Work
Story Points
Subproject
Use Case
User Stories
Variance Analysis
Workaround
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