IT projects are becoming increasingly complex due to rapidly advancing technologies, the need to tackle more difficult problems, and the involvement of a larger variety of experts with different backgrounds and experiences from different countries and cultures. It is also common for these teams to often work remotely in virtual settings. In this context, besides conflicts between IT project team members, cross-functional and cross-hierarchical organizational conflicts might emerge as well. These conflicts can vary in terms of their origin, nature, and intensity. This paper is a qualitative study focused on understanding interpersonal communication-based conflicts in multicultural and multidisciplinary IT project teams. The purpose is to find a common approach that can mitigate and eventually resolve these conflicts, aiming to promote shared knowledge and ultimately reduce the gap in understanding and the likelihood of conflicts. Both secondary research (a literature survey) and primary research (involving experienced managers and experts from project teams in the Romanian IT industry) were conducted in order to reach the objectives, besides sets of lessons learned and recommendations, to develop a framework for systematic conflict analysis and to propose a practice for a transcultural framework of common team vocabulary. To achieve these, a number of conflicts were investigated in IT project teams and corresponding cases. Based on the research findings, the authors concluded that a more formal approach is needed to address the problem of conflicts. From a theoretical standpoint, this paper suggests the concept of management diversity and provides a typology of organizational conflicts. Nevertheless, the framework for systematic analysis of conflict typology (FACT) and the framework of common team vocabulary in the multicultural environment of IT organizational project teams, as well as the sets of lessons learned and recommendations, might be useful and inspiring for both scholars and managers, not only in the IT sector.

IT projects are becoming more and more complex, requiring a culturally and functionally diverse mix of individuals [1] to be part of the project teams and acknowledging that investment in diversity (including cultural) should be a “future focus for the post-pandemic world” [2] . On top of this, there are a few takeaways from the COVID pandemic also. If we look at it through the perspective of what it meant for the projects that had to find a solution, then we think of projects that had to deliver a product in an unprecedented short time, with people working in different domains, even interorganizational or private sector working with public sector (academic centres and government). If we look at it through the perspective of what it will mean from now on, we can say that during the COVID pandemic working remotely was a norm for the IT industry, so there was a big investment in improving the tools and processes that supported this and will continue to do so. In this context, where we foresee more and more cross-discipline, cross-functional and cross-cultural teams, we need to address the challenges of managing such a team, which could make the difference between failing fast or fostering innovation at its best. This paper`s central focus is the study of some of the biggest sources of conflict (when the IT project set-up involves teams that are cross-cultural and cross-functional) and addressing them in a more formal way, by proposing practices such as the use of an adapted team charter and a communication manifesto.

When it comes to choosing the project management delivery approach and methodology, internationally acknowledged guides agree on one thing: it should be tailored to suit the project. Finding the right method and approach requires considering particularities related to the project type, geography, and culture. Also, the team and stakeholders’ characteristics play a crucial role in project tailoring and adaptation. On the other hand, the project team componence and management has been considerably influenced by some of the 2022 global megatrends: digital disruption, labour shortages and diversity and inclusion movement. One of the implications and impact is the increasing need of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary project teams that deliver IT projects. The aim of this article is to provide a reflection on how agile, traditional(waterfall) and hybrid blends in when managing IT projects with cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary teams. For this purpose, secondary research (literature survey) and primary research, some representative examples and observations based on the author's professional experience will be analyzed. What do we choose and equally important: how do we choose? What role does methodology play in this context when it comes to conflict resolution?