PMBOK® Guide - Eighth Edition: Dealing with Project Conflict

Conflict is a natural and unavoidable part of project work. This course teaches project and product professionals how to recognize, understand, and manage conflict effectively to support team performance and project success. Aligned to the PMBOK® Guide 8th Edition, the course explores common sources of conflict, team dynamics, and practical resolution strategies. Learners will examine real-world scenarios across both predictive and agile environments to understand how conflict develops and how skilled project professionals respond. Participants will learn how to diagnose the root cause of conflict, select appropriate resolution approaches, and navigate challenges involving team members, stakeholders, and competing priorities. The course also covers how to build a team environment that supports productive disagreement and prevents destructive conflict.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the role of conflict in project environments and its impact on team performance.
• Identify common sources of conflict in projects.
• Recognize the stages of team development where conflict is most likely to occur.
• Distinguish between productive and destructive conflict.
• Apply the five conflict resolution approaches to different project situations.
• Analyze conflict scenarios to determine underlying causes.
• Select appropriate conflict management strategies based on situational factors.
• Determine when escalation is necessary and appropriate.
• Demonstrate techniques for addressing conflict with team members and stakeholders.
• Identify practices that help build a conflict-resilient project team.