Process Model of Creative Conflict Management in Projects

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the increasing complexity of team interaction in project environments shaped by digitalization, virtual and hybrid work formats, and the use of AI tools for supporting managerial decision-making. Under these conditions, conflicts in project teams arise not only from interpersonal disagreements but also from data interpretation, algorithmic recommendations, responsibility allocation, trust in intelligent systems, and decision transparency. This highlights the need for a process-oriented approach that ensures a consistent sequence of managerial actions, documentation of decisions, and transformation of conflict-related experience into organizational knowledge. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to substantiate, refine, and present a process-oriented representation of the creative conflict management model in projects using the IDEF0 functional modeling methodology. Methods. The study applies systems analysis, comparative analysis of scholarly approaches and project management standards, generalization, conceptual modeling, and process modeling. The IDEF0 methodology is used to describe the process through Inputs, Controls, Mechanisms, and Outputs. Results. The article refines and presents a process-oriented representation of creative conflict management based on the model developed by O. Danchenko and N. Fedotova. Creative conflict management is considered as a cross-cutting managerial function integrated into the initiation, planning, execution, and closure phases of the project life cycle. At the contextual level, the model specifies the inputs, controls, mechanisms, and outputs of the process. The key mechanisms include the project manager, the project team, an AI assistant, and the Conflict Management Scenario Bank. The main controls include the project charter, the team conflict management standard, the “Compass 8D” method, and project document templates. The proposed model contributes to resolving conflict situations, creating lessons learned registers, updating the Scenario Bank, and accumulating organizational knowledge for reuse in subsequent projects. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a refined process-oriented representation of creative conflict management as a controlled cycle that combines the IDEF0 methodology, project life-cycle phases, the “Compass 8D” method, and mechanisms for documenting and reusing organizational knowledge. The practical significance of the model is associated with the possibility of increasing transparency, evidence-based reasoning, and repeatability of managerial actions. Further research should focus on testing the model in real project settings, developing effectiveness indicators, and detailing the structure and update rules of the Scenario Bank.