The Hen Egg Problem in Projects

In most projects, what I call a “hen egg problem” will eventually appear: the involved parties in the project will point at each other and say they cannot proceed without the other proceeding first.

My hands-on solution that works most of the time is the obvious: pick one party and ask for their most pressing demands. Whatever they say, write it down and move to the other party. Ask them how they could fulfill this demand and go back.

Two or three cycles will usually break the tie. One of the reasons project managers exist…