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G&W Chapter 13: Facilitating in the Face of Conflict Software Specification Lecture 20

G&W Chapter 13: Facilitating in the Face of Conflict Software Specification Lecture 20. Prepared by Stephen M. Thebaut, Ph.D. University of Florida. Overview. Every project experiences conflict... i.e., situations in which two or more of the principals clash.

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G&W Chapter 13: Facilitating in the Face of Conflict Software Specification Lecture 20

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  1. G&W Chapter 13:Facilitating in the Face of ConflictSoftware SpecificationLecture 20 Prepared by Stephen M. Thebaut, Ph.D. University of Florida

  2. Overview • Every project experiences conflict... i.e., situations in which two or more of the principals clash. • Out-of-control conflicts...reduce the tendency to explore possibilities. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  3. Overview (cont’d) • Skillful facilitation can do more than merely cope with conflict; it can turn conflict into a source of new possibilities. • Chap 13 is intended to stress the importance of facilitation, not to make you a skilled facilitator. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  4. Handling Conflicts • The first thing a facilitator does is determine whether a conflict is essential or inessential. • Essentialconflicts concern this project, at this time, and involves the people who are present. • Inessentialconflicts concern other projects, other times, or people who are not present. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  5. Handling Conflicts (cont’d) • Inessentialconflicts are resolved by making everyone aware that they belong elsewhere. • Essentialconflicts are resolved through reframing, negotiating, or deferment to design. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  6. Inessential Conflicts • Wrong time, wrong project(“That won’t work! We’ve already tried that…”) • Personality clashes(“You always...” or “You never...”) • When people have a long history of taking opposite sides of any issue, or • In cases of mistaken identity. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  7. Inessential Conflicts (cont’d) • Intergroup prejudice(e.g., engineering vs. marketing) • Prevention via getting people to know each otheroutside their professional roles, and/or professional team-building activities. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  8. Inessential Conflicts (cont’d) • Level differences(i.e., management levels within an organization) • Most easily handled when conflicts are faced directly with two of more levels represented in the same room at the same time. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  9. Essential Conflicts • Personality differences resulting in people having different needs or desires. (e.g., being in control vs. being controlled) Facilitation involves: • Acknowledging the conflict. • Working toward everyone’s acceptance that individuals have a right to their own desires, but not necessarily to getting those desires satisfied. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  10. Essential Conflicts (cont’d) • Reframing the conflict so as to allow for a positive interpretation of both sides. • Negotiating a compromise that provides both sides with at least some of their needs satisfied. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  11. Essential Conflicts (cont’d) • Political conflicts(e.g., quality vs. cost and/or time, cost vs. time, security vs. access) Facilitation involves: • Assuring everyone that such conflicts naturally arise from problem understanding. • Convincing everyone that resolution should come in the design phase. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  12. Effective Facilitation: The Art of Being Fully Present • Be free to notice everything, and don’t pretend certain things aren’t happening. • Be free to ask about anything puzzling. • Be free to comment on anything, especially on your own reactions. • Be free to comment when you don’t feel any of the above freedoms. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  13. Should Facilitators be External or Internal? • External (professional) facilitators have no personal stake in one outcome or another, and they can serve as trainers for internal facilitators. • Internal (local) facilitators can be available throughout the life of a project, even when meetings are called suddenly (and emotions may be running high). Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  14. Final Points • When combatants engaged in inessential conflicts are out of control, eliminating them from the project may be the only option. “Nobody’s indispensable early in a project. Delay renders a soluble problem insoluble.” • It’s never a good idea to conduct any requirements meeting without a facilitator, because you can’t predict when intense emotions will erupt. Software Specification: G&W Chapter 13

  15. G&W Chapter 13:Facilitating in the Face of ConflictSoftware SpecificationLecture 20 Prepared by Stephen M. Thebaut, Ph.D. University of Florida

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