Conflict is something people tend to shy away from. Conflict, at its worst, is all about confrontation, disagreement, winners, and losers. Indeed, when people think of conflict, images of shouting matches and stressful confrontations may come to mind. Resolving conflict is not about winning or losing, but about finding the best way to advance the team toward its goals. By ensuring teams avoid the debilitating effects of negative conflict they will stay out of a trap that can sap their effectiveness and productivity.
Though, when conflict is managed properly, it can be a positive thing. A good example of conflict management is the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing group development model. Teams and workgroups made up of IT professionals are, almost by definition, going to include smart people with strongly held opinions. That there will be disagreements is not necessarily bad. It comes down to how those opinions are communicated and perceived.