Here's how you can navigate conflicts in technical decisions or approaches as a software engineer.

I was sitting on a couch in the office pretending to be working while two teammates at their desks nearby were discussing a code review. The author did not agree with the reviewer's requested change, and said that he would remove the reviewer and ask another teammate for a review. The reviewer told him that is not permissible in the company culture and that he should consider the refactor. The author then told him, "So be it, if you will not approve this change, then I will just leave this undone and work on something else." - "Forever?" the reviewer responded. - "Yes" and he walked away.

Agreement and Disagreement on approaches should be documented as future teams may think why it was not implemented in that way.

Thoroughly understand the technical issues at hand. Identify core concerns such as scalability, efficiency, or maintainability. Focus on facts and data rather than personal preferences or egos to set the stage for a logical and informed debate.

Navigating conflicts in technical decisions requires a human touch. As a software engineer, start by listening actively to your teammates, understanding their perspectives, and fostering open communication. Embrace diversity of thought within your team and use it to find creative solutions. When making decisions, consider both technical aspects and their impact on people. In the end, navigating conflicts in technical decisions is as much about understanding people as it is about understanding technology. By approaching these situations with empathy, communication, and collaboration, you can build stronger relationships, foster innovation, and drive your projects toward success.

The greatest problem is the younger generation has not been taught the 2 Cardinal commandments of design: 1.) Never ASSUME anything, 2.) Never be AMBIGUOUS. These are even more important with AI as they actually think AI is intelligent, but it is actually dumb unless the implementer does not assume anything and there for a each decision block designs "ALL" needed responses needed for AI to choose. Continued on next post

Actively listen to all parties involved, ensuring you understand their perspectives and concerns fully. Encourage open dialogue to foster a collaborative environment.

In my experience, communication always gives an clear consensus towards everyone’s perspective about the project in the team. So by better communication , ideas and mindset align together for a better outcome.

It also helps to ask everyone involved if they are understanding your point. You may be under the impression that what you are saying is being clearly communicated but that may not be the case, or you may need to clarify some things.

Clearly articulate your perspective and rationale, while also ensuring you understand the viewpoints of others. Effective communication is key to resolving conflicts and reaching a consensus.

Alternate approaches must be well argued in a healthy discussion in a meeting room. and everyone should be given chance to share his views

It can also help to briefly talk about the selection criteria prior to creating the spike. Are we trying to find the fastest solution? The one with most active code base? The least risky solution? All of the above?

Explore alternative solutions or approaches that could address the concerns raised by all parties involved. Encourage brainstorming and creativity to find the best possible solution.

Consider doing this asynchronously on paper to give everyone the change to process and think of solutions. Make sure to write down all the pros and cons for solutions both considering the requirements and the complexity of the solution. In my experience, often a simpler solution that doesn't completely cover all original requirements is chosen.

Aggrement should have consensus of everyone in the meeting room. Better designs come out of discussions only and sometimes go back and read some new approach and then freeze them.

Not all engineers tend to speak up in meetings, so when building consensus it can be a good idea to specifically ask those that haven't weighed in yet on what they think.

Work towards consensus by finding common ground and ensuring that everyone feels heard and their concerns addressed. Collaboration and compromise are essential for reaching agreement.

After the conflict is resolved, take time to reflect on the process. Consider what worked well and what could be improved for future conflicts. Continuous learning and improvement are vital for personal and professional growth as a software engineer

Additionally the IRRA in 2018 required that all transactions are recorded, and this means database entries, so when troubleshooting errors, when the help seeker calls back the troubleshooting knows where you were in the process, thus bypassing all preceding steps and therefore continues the trouble shooting where it left off, which no one is currently doing. The first thing AI must do is identify the users/callers level of proficiency with the item being diagnosed, on a 1-5 level, Understand thatif you do not do this you just identified, the level 5 super user as a stupid dummy, which is the maximum insult you can give to this level user. Continued again