Learn the core concepts in 10 minutes and start building functionally correct project plans
Most project management tools accumulated features over decades, creating ambiguity and hidden complexity. Consequent strips away opaque conventions and replaces them with clear, explicit principles.
This guide introduces the five core concepts that make Consequent functionally correct and semantically uniform.
Tasks don't have "start dates"
In Consequent, every task starts as soon as possible by default — meaning as soon as its dependencies are satisfied. You only set an SNET date when you need to explicitly constrain when work can begin.
Example:
"Foundation pour" depends on "Site excavation" completing. Without an SNET, it starts immediately after excavation. Add an SNET of March 15th if concrete can't be delivered before that date.
Tasks don't have "end dates"
Tasks finish when the work is complete. FNLT dates are deadlines or constraints — explicit pressure points in your schedule that everyone can see and reason about.
Pro Tip:
Want to "pin" a task to a specific date? Set both SNET and FNLT to the same date. This makes your constraint explicit and auditable, not hidden in the UI.
The hour is the fundamental unit
Minutes add complexity without value in 99% of project contexts. Hours provide the right balance of precision and practicality. We enforce no fractions, no 1.999 hours, no 3.9999 days. Everything is x days and y hours. For "instant in time" events like approvals or go-live moments, use milestones instead.
Why hours?
Experienced project managers know that minute-level precision creates false accuracy. Hours reflect the actual granularity of most work.
Dependencies in Consequent follow simple, logical rules that eliminate confusion:
Task groups CAN BE predecessors
All tasks in the group must complete before successors start
Task groups CANNOT BE successors
This would be opaque and unclear
Individual tasks work as both
Simple and intuitive
Make critical moments visible
Traditional PM tools hide constraint types in dialogs. Consequent makes them visible as named milestones on the Gantt chart — "Permit issued", "Go-live allowed", "Client approval received".
Milestones participate in dependencies just like tasks, but represent instant-in-time events rather than duration-based work.
No Lag
We removed lag because it creates a hidden language for time. Instead of "Task A + 3 days lag → Task B", create explicit activities: "Task A → Curing wait (3 days) → Task B". Slightly more verbose, but infinitely clearer.
ASAP by Default
Every task is "as soon as possible" unless you explicitly add constraints. This eliminates scheduling ambiguity and makes your plan's logic transparent.
You now understand the core principles. Start your first project to see how these concepts create clearer, more maintainable schedules.