Level 6 · In practice

6.2Recurring issues (playbook)

Goal: have a “symptom → causes → actions” playbook for common Microsoft Project difficulties.

Estimated time: 12 min · If you only have 5 min: read “The essentials in 30s” + the diagram.

The essentials in 30 seconds

Diagnose: a symptom = likely causes = a sequence of actions — you do not fix a schedule at random.
Fundamentals first: check the basics (automatic mode, calendar, links) before going further, one correction at a time.
Root cause: a symptom that keeps coming back is not eight incidents, it is a missing fundamental (mode, links, calendar, baseline, tracking) to be fixed at the root.

Meriem's thread — the table taped next to her screen

Meriem keeps this playbook displayed near her screen in Algiers. Verdict after a quarter: three lines served her most — “the schedule does not recalculate”, “red resources” and “impossible to track variances”. For each, she ended up applying the sequence (symptom, causes, actions) instead of trying random fixes.

Observed symptom, verified causes, actions in order: the reflex comes in three steps.

One reflex per symptom

Most blockers in Project are classics. Linking each symptom to its likely causes and to a sequence of actions saves precious time and brings you back to the fundamentals of a healthy schedule.

Fundamentals first

You first check the basics (automatic mode? right calendar? links rather than dates?) before looking further. One correction at a time, otherwise you no longer know what fixed the problem.

Treat the root cause

The same symptom coming back is not ten incidents: it is a missing fundamental (automatic mode, link rather than date, right calendar, baseline, up-to-date tracking) to be fixed at the root.

Symptom	Likely causes	Actions
The schedule does not recalculate when I change a duration	tasks in manual mode	switch to automatic scheduling; set the default mode to auto (N1.2)
A 5-day task ends too late	wrong calendar (weekends/public holidays)	check “Change Working Time”: time off, hours (N0.4)
The schedule does not move when an upstream task slips	dates entered by hand instead of links	link tasks through dependencies; remove rigid constraints (N1.3, N1.4)
The duration becomes absurd after an assignment	task type unsuitable for the intent	choose which variable to fix (units/duration/work) before changing (N2.3)
Red (overallocated) resources	overlap or assignment beyond capacity	audit/level within available slack, shift or reassign (N3.2)
Impossible to track variances / empty EVM	no baseline, or work/costs not entered	set a baseline before starting, keep progress up to date, set the status date (N3.3, N4.3)

Common misinterpretation: “the table replaces diagnosis”. No. The playbook gives likely causes, not a verdict: observe the symptom, check the cause (mode, calendar, links, task type, overallocation, baseline), then apply the targeted action.

Text version of the diagram (SEO / screen readers / translation): 1) Name the observed symptom (the schedule does not recalculate, a task ends too late, costs stay at zero, red resources, empty EVM). 2) Retain the likely causes from the table without concluding alone (manual mode, wrong calendar, hard dates, unsuitable task type, overallocation, missing baseline). 3) Apply the actions in order, from the fundamental to the detail (auto mode → working time → links → task type → leveling → baseline). 4) Fix at the root: a recurring symptom = a missing fundamental. Lesson: a healthy schedule is linked, recalculates, is baselined and kept up to date.

Script ready to say — diagnosing a schedule (30 s)

“My symptom: [the schedule does not recalculate / costs at zero / red resources]. I check the likely cause from the playbook (mode, calendar, links, task type, overallocation, baseline) and apply the targeted action.”

The reflex comes in three steps: symptom, cause, action.

Script ready to say — going back to fundamentals (30 s)

“Am I linking rather than dating? Am I in automatic mode? Is my calendar right? Have I set a baseline? If any answer is no, I fix the base before going further.”

Always check the fundamental before the detail.

Copy-paste template — schedule diagnosis

Does not recalculate  -- manual mode?   -> switch to auto
Task ends too late     -- calendar?      -> working time, time off
Does not move          -- hard dates?    -> link through dependencies
Absurd duration        -- task type?     -> choose the variable to fix
Red resources          -- overallocation?-> audit / level
Empty EVM              -- baseline?      -> save the baseline

Copy-paste template — schedule incident sheet

Symptom  : [what I see in Project]
Cause    : [verified, not assumed]
Action   : [one correction at a time]
Proof    : [what I retested]
Root?    : [isolated symptom or missing fundamental]

VSE / small budget

No formal table: a symptom, the likely cause, the action and the proof, noted on a sheet near the schedule.

Algiers SME

Build local realities into the diagnosis: irregular supplies, bad weather, several projects at once, French content.

Remote / hybrid

Add a screenshot to the diagnosis: at a distance, a written symptom and proof avoid back-and-forth.

Intercultural

Make findings explicit in writing: what seems obvious (which field, which format) is not obvious to everyone.

Caution: Generic reminder: the same recurring error is not ten incidents — fix the design at the root (automatic mode, links, calendar, baseline) and duplicate the file before any mass modification of a schedule in progress.

48h challenge — apply it tomorrow

Identify 1 current symptom in your schedule (does not recalculate, red resources, costs at zero, empty EVM), apply the playbook line (named symptom + verified cause + targeted action) and prove it.

Section exit checklist

I can link a schedule symptom to its likely causes.
I check the fundamental before the detail, one correction at a time.
I distinguish an isolated symptom from a missing fundamental.

Self-assessment 1-5: diagnosis before correction?systematic proof after correction?

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Check your understanding

Meriem changes a duration but the schedule does not move. Which playbook reflex applies?

💡

Reflex: name the symptom, verify the cause, apply the targeted action — and spot the missing fundamental behind a recurring symptom.