A planning methodology · applied by Imhauser Technologies
A planning method for projects you run many times.
FlowPilot is a methodology we apply to your project and set up on tools you own, not software you subscribe to. Define the project once, then plan every run from a single date, with everyone involved told what is coming and when.
- D−120Sign the lease
- D−100Design the clinic layout
- D−80Obtain the building permits
- D−45Recruit the branch team
- D−35Renovation works
- D−21Install the dental chairs
- D−14Install the IT network and workstations
- D−10Local marketing campaign
- D−7Staff training
- D0Opening Day
- D+1Open house week
- D+30First month review
The same project, planned from scratch every time
Opening a store, a clinic or a branch, onboarding a client, running a yearly event: the steps hardly change. Only the dates and the people do.
- 01
Last time's spreadsheet
Each run starts from a copy of the previous plan, with whatever was wrong in it.
- 02
Dates typed by hand
When the key date slips, every deadline around it has to be worked out again.
- 03
People chased by email
Contractors and suppliers hear about their dates late, or after they have changed.
The method
Eight principles, the same ones that ran 60,000 projects.
- 01
Define the project once
The project becomes a template: every activity your team does each time, with an owner role and what "done" looks like.
- 02
One reference date
Every activity is placed relative to one key moment, such as opening day: "sign the lease 120 days before".
- 03
Three kinds of activity
A task has a deadline, a milestone is a single day, an event happens on given dates. That is what keeps dates and reminders right.
- 04
Roles, not names
The template says "architect" or "IT provider", never a person, so one template serves every location and contractor.
- 05
Every run is an iteration
A new store or client is a name, a reference date and the people. The full schedule follows in seconds.
- 06
Move one date, the plan follows
When opening day slips, every activity moves with it, except the ones a planner fixed by hand.
- 07
One master plan
All iterations on one timeline: the whole year, the busy weeks and the clashes at a glance.
- 08
People are told, not asked to log in
Contractors, suppliers and colleagues get short notices and a calendar feed. They never need an account.
Optional, for teams that also follow execution: owners record when work actually started and finished, give an expected date when something will slip, and the planner is warned before a delay reaches the reference date.
Worked exampleThe Tysons Center opening
-
02
One reference date
The branch opening template places each activity relative to opening day: sign the lease 120 days before it.
- Sign the leaseDue 120 days before
- Install the dental chairsDue 21 days before
- Staff trainingStarts 7 days before
- Opening DayOn the reference date
-
05
Every run is an iteration
Tysons Center gets a name, an opening day and the people for each role. Every start and deadline follows from the rules.
Iteration name Tysons CenterReference date (Opening Day) Mon, 8 Mar 202712 activities scheduled, 4 Nov → 7 Apr 2027
-
06
Move one date, the plan follows
Opening slips a week, to Mon, 15 Mar 2027. The planner moves one date and every activity shifts with it. Everyone affected is told.
PermitsRenovationIT networkReference date +7 daysPermitsRenovationIT network
Where it comes from
Between 2007 and 2011 we designed and built Project Engine for BNP Paribas Fortis in Brussels, first to manage branch mergers. The technology under it has been replaced since. The method has not.
- projects coordinated
- 60,000+
- branch mergers
- nearly 500
- years in use, and counting
- 15+
What lasts
The way you plan a repeated project: the template, the reference date, the roles and the rules. It lasted for decades.
What changes
The tools it runs on, every few years. FlowPilot is built on that lesson. Read the case study.
How your team works with it
Planners ask. Everyone else is told.
The method needs one place that computes dates exactly, a way for planners to work and a way for everyone else to know what is coming. This is how we set it up today.
-
Planners
They ask Claude in plain English: "set up the Reston opening for 15 May with Jane as branch manager", "what changes if Tysons slips two weeks?". Claude shows what will change and asks before saving or notifying anyone.
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Planners and managers with Claude
A master plan dashboard inside Claude: every iteration on one timeline, the weeks ahead, who is busy when.
-
Managers without Claude
A read-only master plan page in the browser, from a private link.
-
Stakeholders
Contractors, suppliers and colleagues get short email notices, a personal read-only page and a calendar feed for Outlook, Google or Apple Calendar. No account, no login.
Dates come from tested rules, never from the AI's own arithmetic, and nothing is saved or sent without a planner's yes. Personal links only read, and can be reset if shared by mistake.
‹ My projects
Tysons Center
Smile Dental Group · Opening Mon, 15 Mar 2027
What's new
The reference date moved from 8 Mar to 15 Mar: the whole schedule shifts by 7 days.
Renovation works
Due Mon, 8 Feb 2027
Today · 17 Feb
Install the dental chairs★ You
Due Mon, 22 Feb 2027 · starts 20 Feb
Install the IT network and workstations★ You
Due Mon, 1 Mar 2027 · starts 27 Feb
Opening Day
Mon, 15 Mar 2027
The schedule has changed, from Smile Dental Group
Hello Tom,
Eric Imhauser from Smile Dental Group has updated a schedule you are part of.
A methodology, not a software product
We first set out to rebuild Project Engine as software you subscribe to. We changed course, because what teams need is the method.
- 01
The method is the hard part
Turning "how we open a store" into a clean template with the right offsets, roles and reminders is where the value is. That work stays yours whatever tools you use.
- 02
The tools move faster than ever
AI assistants, databases and dashboards change every few months. A method does not age; the tools under it can be swapped.
- 03
You should own your planning
Your templates and project history belong in accounts you control, and should not disappear if a vendor does.
What it is
A proven planning methodology applied to your project: your template, your planning rules, your playbook and a team trained to use them, set up on tools you own. Today that is Claude for your planners and a Supabase database that computes every date.
What it is not
Not a SaaS, not an IT system, no platform fee, no lock-in. Nothing runs on our servers, and if the tools change, the method and your templates come with you.
Who it is for
Organizations that run the same kind of project at least ten times a year, with a dozen or more activities and several outside parties each time.
A good fit
- Multi-unit brands and groups: restaurants, retail, franchise systems, dental, veterinary and medical groups, fitness, facility operators
- Service companies that onboard a new client or site on the same plan every time
- Organizers of recurring events
- Teams that plan in spreadsheets, email and generic project tools today
Not a good fit
- One-off projects: the method pays off from the third or fourth run
- Critical-path scheduling with dependencies between hundreds of tasks, such as trade-level construction. FlowPilot plans from one date, deliberately
- Buyers looking for an off-the-shelf subscription
Start here
Book a free planning review.
In 30 minutes we look at the project you repeat and how you plan it today. Within two business days you get a one-page note: whether FlowPilot fits, the size of your template and a fixed price.
Claude and Supabase are paid by you, directly to the vendors: typically under $100 a month for a small planning team. No FlowPilot license or platform fee on top.
Packages
- Blueprint
- $2,900
- Fixed. The method applied to one repeated project, usable in any tool. Two weeks.
- FlowPilot Setup
- from $9,500
- Fixed. The Blueprint put to work on tools you own. Four to six weeks.
- FlowPilot Care
- $495 a month
- Optional, month to month. Up to three hours of template changes, help and upkeep.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is FlowPilot software?
No. FlowPilot is a planning methodology. We apply it to your project and set it up on tools you own; today that is Claude and Supabase. There is nothing to subscribe to and no license to renew.
What happens when Claude or Supabase change?
Your planning rules are written down in your Blueprint, your data sits in a standard Postgres database, and the FlowPilot connector uses the Model Context Protocol, an open standard. If a tool changes or a better one appears, the method and your templates move with you.
Do contractors and suppliers need Claude?
No. They get short email notices, a personal read-only page and a calendar feed. Only your planners use Claude.
We do not use Claude. Can we still use FlowPilot?
Yes. The Blueprint comes with a workbook that computes a run's dates from its reference date, and many teams start there. The setup can also be adapted to another AI assistant or to browser screens only.
Can AI get the dates wrong?
Not in FlowPilot. Dates are computed by rules in the database that we test; Claude only asks the database and shows you the result, and a planner confirms every change.
Does it handle dependencies between tasks?
FlowPilot plans every activity from one reference date, which is what kept Project Engine simple enough for 60,000 projects. If you need a full critical-path schedule, a scheduling tool is the better choice, and we will say so in the planning review.
Who owns the template and the data?
You do, along with everything we build: the template, the workbook, the playbook, the database, the connector and the pages. It all lives in your accounts.