The computer you're reading this with is a complicated piece of equipment. For what you see on your monitor to be comprehensible or simply to ensure that moving your mouse elicits a similar response from the pointer on the screen, numerous tiny parts inside the device have to run all manner of processes. If any one of those parts or processes fails, then so can the whole kit and caboodle - you'll be hitting keys, but nothing will appear. Alternatively, the consequences might not be immediate; a minor error might at first slow the system down imperceptibly, but each time the computer runs the process, the errors will accumulate, and the computer will eventually seize up altogether.

A major project can be much the same. A small problem in one of many tasks may go unnoticed, but the consequences could grow and grow until they create a very real concern - or potentially derail the project altogether. And just as the IT technician will be unable to return the computer to normal operation until the root cause is dealt with, so you'll need to be able to isolate the issue that's holding your project up, and the sooner the better. If you've planned, prepared and managed your project with Microsoft Project, you can do just that.

Conor is the project manager with Commercial Constructions, who have a contract to build a new out-of-town shopping centre. Progress has mostly been swift, both to schedule and to budget. However, things have recently gone awry. Expected completion times for tasks are not all being met, and even those that have been running to schedule are starting to be delayed by slippage elsewhere. It's imperative that Conor bring the project back under control, and to act now to prevent it spiralling irreparably out of its budget and time limits.

Conor has been using Project to administer the work. Each task has been planned out in a Gantt chart, from the first step to the last, and he has established at what point in the process each ought to begin and end. He can clearly see which tasks haven't been running to schedule - Project shows him when the task is now expected to run to and from, and what the original schedule was, and the difference between the two becomes obvious. Yet many tasks have slipped away from their plan; to deal effectively with the situation, and to ensure it doesn't get any worse, Conor needs to find the initial fault.

Each task in Project has task drivers. By selecting any of the delayed tasks, Conor can see what needs to happen before the task can commence. For instance, where some of the shop floors haven't been put in to schedule, Conor can see the tasks that need to be completed before this can happen, and which of these are holding the process up. He sees that all the materials are ready to assemble the flooring, and all the necessary structural work has long been completed. But Project's task drivers show him that the plumbing work has been behind schedule - and through examining the plumbing stage of the project, Conor can see all the different tasks that are being delayed as a consequence - shops, toilets, offices, maintenance departments, all of which drive their own succeeding tasks, which are currently also being delayed. He can also see the predecessors that drive the plumbing: is there a minor issue which causes a larger problem for the plumbers, and which in turn is throwing the entire project out of kilter?

By following the succession of task drivers, Conor tracks the delays right back to the point at which delays first started appearing. He can now isolate, as the cause of all the troubles the project is facing, an issue with pipe lagging. Such a small matter can easily be overlooked, as one detail amongst thousands - for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, but now that Conor is aware of the problem, it can easily be addressed, and the project put firmly back on track.

Conor's grand construction plans were in danger of falling apart; but thanks to the task driver tool in Microsoft Project, he could find and rectify what was close to becoming a critical problem. Being able to track such issues can often make the difference between success and failure, and help to guide any business towards growth and prosperity. A short training course can help you to take advantage of this very useful tool, and put it to the benefit of your own organisation. You need never let minor issues derail your projects again - and you can be sure that that all-important nail will be there when you need it.