B. Conflict
Conflict describes the actual management of the
development of the system (or system-of-systems) and is
related to the balances and choices made. Conflict is divided
into three parts, people, system, and organization [8]. While
the most important part of project management conflict is that
associated with people, the structural issues of system-ofsystems
generate
their
own
conflict.
Those structural issues include funding and management,
and how that funding and management fits in a hierarchy of
system-of-systems development. Conflict arises over the span
of control of the system-of-systems, and the relationship of the
system-of-systems to the systems that are the basis of the
system-of-systems. Often, those systems are in development
and dealing with their own funding and management
problems.
The people aspect of conflict starts at the level of the
project manager. The PM is assigned a group of people on a
temporary basis—a matrix organization. Project organizations
are purpose-built temporary organizations that consist of
people with different loyalties, and different masters. The first
element of conflict is the fact the manager for the most part
has limited control of the entire organization. A second major
element of people conflict is change. Projects are about
change, but change is anathema to most people.
System conflict is expressed as the balance of priority. At
the organization level, priority is normally established by
stakeholders, and decided by the PM. In system-of-systems
development this prioritization responsibility is magnified.
And as in any development activity, priority shifts based on
actual events. At the process level priority is expressed as
what activities get done in what sequence. At the system level
priorities are a key decision point for the project manager. At
the system-of-systems level it is often the lack of control over
prioritization that causes the problems as the system
developments are those activities funded and staffed. For this
principle, examination and communication of priorities and
associated decisions is central to understanding the outputs of
the process. The different management levels have different
goals, and that difference impacts on the establishment and the
execution of priorities throughout the development.
Organization conflicts exist at both the stakeholder level,
as well as between project managers in the system-of-systems
hierarchy. Higher-level organizations both stakeholders and
system-of-systems level set priorities that may or may not
match those of the project organization. Similarly, the matrix
support organizations (i.e. engineering) are tasked with
providing support to different projects. How those leaders
decide to allocate their resources impacts the success of the
project, as well as the execution of the process.