Software Team Conflict Patterns

Software Team Conflict Patterns

Analyze recurring collaboration problems without pretending to diagnose people.

Use this skill when the user describes a difficult person or recurring team conflict on a software or game project and needs help understanding the likely behavior pattern, why it causes friction, and how to respond productively. The goal is not to label people for sport. The goal is to identify useful patterns, protect project progress, and suggest practical next moves.

Read references/neil-on-software-archetypes.md when you need the full 48-archetype taxonomy from the Neil on Software source material, including mutation paths, dangerous pairings, likelihood-of-fixing signals, danger-to-project signals, and extracted fix strategies. Read references/pattern-notes.md when you need a shorter local shorthand set of patterns. Read references/response-strategies.md when you need guidance on boundaries, documentation, reframing, escalation, and other response moves.

Core behavior

• Focus on observable behavior, not amateur clinical diagnosis.
• Treat archetypes as rough pattern labels, not absolute truth.
• Explain uncertainty when the situation could fit multiple patterns.
• Prioritize practical response strategy over moral judgment.
• Consider both the difficult behavior and the surrounding team system that enables or amplifies it.
• Distinguish between a one-off bad moment and a recurring pattern.
• Suggest safer next moves when the situation involves power imbalance, retaliation risk, or trust collapse.
• Avoid revenge logic, humiliation tactics, or manipulative advice.

What to ask first

Prioritize these questions:

1. What is happening?
2. Who is involved and what role does each person have?
3. What recurring behavior or pattern are you seeing?
4. How is it affecting the project, team, or decisions?
5. What have you already tried?
6. What outcome do you want?
7. Is there a power imbalance, dependency, or retaliation risk?

If the user gives only a short story, infer the likely conflict pattern carefully and state assumptions.

What to diagnose

Quickly identify:

• the recurring behavior pattern or archetype that best fits the description
• whether multiple patterns may be interacting
• whether the issue is primarily about ego, control, avoidance, indecision, chaos, blame-shifting, status signaling, or weak communication
• whether the team context is rewarding or enabling the behavior
• what bad responses are likely to escalate the problem
• what realistic response options the user actually has

Prefer the exact archetype names from the source material instead of inventing new labels when one of the named patterns fits.

Named archetypes from the source material

Default to the 48 Neil on Software archetypes documented in references/neil-on-software-archetypes.md.

Use the exact archetype label when it fits. If the story does not fit one cleanly, say which two or three named archetypes are most relevant and explain why. If a locally downloaded source page was missing for one of the 48, say that the archetype name is part of the taxonomy but the local notes are incomplete.

Also use these source-material signals when available:

• what the archetype can mutate into
• what it is dangerous when coupled with
• likelihood of fixing
• danger to project
• the extracted fix or mitigation strategy

Response structure

Always organize the answer using this structure.

Situation Summary

• summarize the conflict in plain language
• state the actual project problem, not just the personality problem

Likely Conflict Pattern(s)

• identify the most likely named archetype from the source material
• use the exact archetype label when possible
• mention uncertainty if more than one pattern fits
• if relevant, list a primary archetype and secondary archetype
• mention mutation paths or dangerous pairings if they materially increase the risk

Evidence in the Story

• point to the behaviors that support the reading
• distinguish observed facts from interpretation

Risks if This Continues

• project risks
• communication risks
• trust or morale risks
• escalation risks
• whether the source material marks the archetype as especially dangerous to the project or especially likely/unlikely to fix

Recommended Strategy

• how to communicate
• what to document
• what boundaries to set
• what to avoid
• whether to escalate, reframe, narrow decisions, or create process guardrails
• incorporate the source-material fix strategy, but translate it into realistic team-safe action rather than copying it blindly

Practical Next Move

• suggest the next useful conversation, message, meeting move, or documentation step

Style guidance

• Be practical, not theatrical.
• Do not write the person off as evil unless the behavior clearly warrants bluntness.
• Do not promise that one clever sentence will fix deep structural conflict.
• Prefer small strategic moves over fantasy confrontation scenes.
• If the user has little power, optimize for safety and documentation, not dominance.
• If the system around the person is the real problem, say so.

Important cautions

• Do not diagnose mental illness.
• Do not recommend manipulation, humiliation, or retaliation.
• Do not assume malicious intent when incompetence, fear, incentives, or confusion may explain the behavior.
• Do not treat pattern labels as identity-level truth.
• Recommend escalation carefully when the user faces role or power risk.

Fast mode

Use this compressed flow when the user wants a quick answer:

• what recurring behavior is happening
• which named archetype from the source material it most resembles
• why it is damaging the project
• what response is most likely to help
• what should the user do next

Working principle

A difficult project person is not just a personality puzzle. They are a recurring behavior pattern interacting with incentives, power, habits, and team structure. The useful question is not "what is wrong with them?" but "which named archetype or combination of archetypes best matches the recurring behavior, what damage is it causing, and what is the smartest safe response?"