Conflict Management

Conflict is inevitable because of the following reasons:

• Requirements of many stakeholders




• Limited power of the project manager




• Necessity of obtaining resources from functional managers

Conflicts can be avoided by Informing the team of:

• Exactly where the project is headed




• Project constraints and objectives

The seven sources of conflict in the order of their frequency are:

• Schedule




• Project priorities




• Resources




• Technical opinions




• Administrative procedures




• Cost




• Personality

Conflict is best resolved by those involved in the conflict.

Conflict Resolution

The key conflict resolution techniques are:

1. Confronting (Problem Solving): Confronting means solving the real problem so that the problem goes away. Confronting leads to a win-win situation.




2. Compromising: This is lose-lose situation, since no party gets everything. This technique involves finding solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to both parties.




3. Withdrawal (Avoidance): In this technique, the parties retreat or postpone a decision on a problem. Dealing with problems is a PMI-ism; therefore, withdrawal is not usually the BEST choice for resolving conflict.




4. Smoothing (Accommodating): This technique emphasizes agreement rather than differences of opinion




5. Collaborating: In this technique, the parties try to incorporate multiple viewpoints in order to lead to consensus




6. Forcing: This technique involves pushing one viewpoint at the expense of another

Problem-Solving Method

Problem-solving method could include:

• Define the root problem




• Analyze the problem




• Identify solutions




• Pick solution




• Implement solution




• Review solution and validate improvement