Conflict Management

In this tutorial, you will learn how to manage conflicts between developers in a constructive manner.

Producer Responsibilities

What does a Producer do? How is it best done?



As the team producer, it is your role to ensure everyone else is contributing effectively to the final game. When everyone on the team is collaborating effectively, the producer will not need to do much. When the team begins to disagree or run into each other in ways they cannot solve alone, the producer may have to step in to help resolve the conflict.

All conflicts stem from a misunderstanding of some kind. Ultimately, the best thing to do when managing a conflict is to get everyone to talk. When your team members communicate their ideas clearly it's easier to find solutions that satisfy everyone and create new ideas that would have otherwise gone unapplied.

How to Resolve a Conflict



Generally speaking, there are five ways to manage and/or resolve conflicts:

Collaboration
Both team members come together to find a solution that works for everyone. This can be difficult, since you need to understand everyone’s talents and what they want to do. But it is more than worth it, for collaboration will ensure everyone contributes their best. This is the preferred way to manage conflicts.

Competition
An arrangement in which team members compete in a fair manner and have their outcome decided by a third party (typically the producer). Both parties will present their cases, and whichever the third chooses becomes the team’s path. In most cases, the third party will be the rest of the team as a whole, who will vote for either side to determine their choice. This can break down roadblocks, but it can be difficult getting the losing party to stay on board. This is a fair way to manage conflicts that are mutually exclusive.

Accommodation
One team member gives into another's decision. This typically occurs if one has a differing opinion but doesn’t feel strongly in it and find it easier to just go along with the majority or stronger voice. If an accommodation can be reached, it is a reasonable way to manage conflicts.

Compromise
When collaboration fails. A third way is devised that neither side wants, and thus neither are satisfied. Compromise is a word to use with care and caution, since people often have differing views of what the word means. People who say compromise is good are typically talking about collaboration or accommodation. In this sense, it is better to collaborate than to compromise.

Avoidance
Rather than try and resolve the conflict, the team members will simply shove it away to handle at a later date. This is a poor way to manage conflicts. Having regular meetings that have the team look over task boards to decide what they will do is a good way to stop avoidance.



Example Conflict



Picture this. You're on a team coming up with an idea for a game. Two artists on your team, one experienced in 2D art and the other in 3D come to you with a conflict. Should the game be 2D or 3D?


Collaboration Solution


The two artists talk and decide on a 3D game. The 3D artist can make the world and characters, while the 2D artist works on the UI assets.

Why it's Effective - Both parties can now contribute their talents in a useful way, and are satisfied with their outcome to boot.

Why it's Ineffective - Art is not the only factor in a game. The rest of the team should be consulted to find a situation that benefits both artists.




Competition Solution


Both artists present their cases to the rest of the team. The team votes for a 2D game, while the 3D artist contributes to the game in another way.

Why it's Effective - The team itself weighs in on a solution most of them can agree with.

Why it's Ineffective - The 3D artist may take a while to get on board with the 2D game plan and figure out their potential new role.




Accommodation Solution


The 2D artist ultimately decides to go along with the 3D plan, since they don't feel as strongly on their position. They'll just learn how to do 3D or find some other way to contribute.

Why it's Effective - The 2D artist's willingness to learn 3D allows the team to get off the ground right away. They won't be able to contribute nearly as well as if they'd been working in their preferred element, but they can still contribute.

Why it's Ineffective - The 2D artist will most likely produce less, and be more frustrated with, 3D art than if they were simply doing what they already knew and enjoyed.




Compromise Solution


Neither artist can agree to the game's style, so the team goes for a text adventure instead.

Why it's Ineffective - Neither artist wanted to, or can really contribute to, a text adventure that lacks visuals. While this technically resolves the problem, it leaves two team members out of the work flow and dissatisfied.




Avoidance Solution


Neither artist can agree to the game's style, so they simply go separate ways and work on the main character in their own styles.

Why it's Ineffective - The main character will actually have to be implemented at some point, and a decision will have to be made. Choosing either of the artist's models will frustrate the other, since it'll be hard work wasted for nothing.


Activity

How would you handle the below conflict?



Two designers are arguing over how to handle a crafting system- one wants a UI with an interactive system where one drags and drops items for certain recipes. The other wants a system that automatically crafts items, showing what can be crafted based on the resources in your inventory. Which one should the team go with?