TOPIC: Clarification Regarding The Sources Of Conflict PMBOK vs Rita's

Hi

As per Rita's, the 7 sources of conflict are (in this order):

1. Schedules
2. Project priorities
3. Resources
4. Technical opinions
5. Administrative procedures
6. Cost
7. Personality

In the PMBOK however, on Pg 228 "Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles."

Based on the above information,

Which are considered the most frequent?

Which should we follow, PMBOK or Rita?

and, how should one attempt questions related to this? Any advice?

Hello Anonymous -

My apologies for not having the actual documents you are referring to in front of me. My response is why I choose and advise other to choose different materials in prepping for the test. The PMBOK can very dry and bland at time when reading it. The Rita book on the other hand takes the dry and bland material and makes it more for you to understand. This is a good thing as the exam questions require you to understand the concepts and not the exact verbiage of the PMBOK.

Good Luck

Hi Kevin,

Unfortunately, that does not answer my question.

Does anyone know which source to follow in terms of the frequently occurring reasons for conflict?

I would follow what the Rita book states around sources of conflict, and conflict resolution. Also follow the "Tricks of the Trade" that are given around that section to help you understand the type of question you are to see on the exam. [based on the 8th edition of the Rita book I have in my possession] Although the PMBOK is the point of reference for the exam the Rita book and the PrepCast help make it more real world.

Are you using the prepcast exam simulator for the exam prep?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Rita Mulcahy clearly believes that a thousand words are worth something!

Rita has stripped out all visual diagrams (such as data flow diagrams) from the PMBOK guide and added layers of verbiage that make learning quite difficult. One of the most egregious liberties she has taken is to turn Table 3.1 on its side, literally. One could argue that Table 3.1 should be organized as shown in the PMBOK guide, since the progression of time (Process Groups) is generally depicted from left to right. Rita has shown the Process Groups from top to bottom, which is counterintuitive in my opinion.

For these reasons, I wouldn't go with Rita's explanation, I'd stick with the PMBOK guide. Rita's book is really more of a reference, and in case of conflict with the PMBOK guide, it's safer to go with the very visual and compact PMBOK guide than the untidy and verbose Rita Mulcahy book.

Hi Anil,

I understand your comments about Rita's book. However, I feel it's important to also recognize that people have different approaches to learning and understanding. I used Rita for my studies and, while I didn't necessarily love everything about the book, it was an effective tool for me. I used the elements of the book that worked for me and ignored the rest. I looked thru a number of the study guides available, and from my perspective none of them were perfect for me as a study tool . Some were good enough. Some were totally not my style.

I never read the PMBOK cover-to-cover - not even once, let alone multiple times as many have done. I DID use it as a reference to clarify questions that I had.

This approach was effective for me, and I passed the exam on the first try (thank God).

Best regards,

Tracy

Anon,

When in doubt, the PMBOK Guide is the closest answer to right. Tracy and Kevin are right in that you should use multiple sources of information that are vetted as PMI REPs to confirm the learning you have done from the PMBOK Guide; while you don't need to read it cover to cover (I did - twice), it contains valuable information that is the basis for the exam. Never fully rely on any one source during your studying but again, when in doubt, use the PMBOK Guide.

- Steven