# Plan

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{{Short description|List of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve a goal}}
{{other uses}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes|date=October 2013}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2013}}
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A '''plan''' is typically any list of steps, with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an [objective](/source/Goal). It is commonly understood as a [temporal](/source/modal_logic) [set](/source/set_(mathematics)) of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a [goal](/source/goal), and is sometimes represented by a [diagram](/source/diagram). 

For [spatial](/source/space) or [planar](/source/Plane_(geometry)) [topologic](/source/topology) or [topographic](/source/topography) sets see [map](/source/map).
  
Plans can be formal or informal:
* Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in [project](/source/project)s, [diplomacy](/source/diplomacy), [career](/source/career)s, [economic development](/source/economic_development), [military](/source/military) campaigns, [combat](/source/combat), [sports](/source/sports), [games](/source/games), or in the conduct of other [business](/source/business). In most cases, the absence of a well-laid plan can have adverse effects: for example, a non-robust project plan can cost the organization time and money.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pmhut.com/what-should-be-included-in-a-project-plan |title=What Should Be Included in a Project Plan |access-date=December 18, 2009 |website=www.pmhut.com|date=9 June 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.forecastingprinciples.com/paperpdf/Value%20of%20Formal%20Planning.pdf | title = The Value of Formal Planning for Strategic Decisions: A Reply | author = J. Scott Armstrong | journal = Strategic Management Journal | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 183–185| year = 1986 | doi=10.1002/smj.4250070207| s2cid = 29733040 }}</ref>
* Informal or [ad hoc](/source/ad_hoc) plans are created by individuals in all of their pursuits.

The most popular ways to describe plans are by their breadth, time frame, and specificity; however, these planning classifications are not independent of one another. For instance, there is a close relationship between the short- and long-term categories and the strategic and operational categories.

It is common for less formal plans to be created as abstract ideas, and remain in that form as they are maintained and put to use. More formal plans as used for business and military purposes, while initially created with and as an abstract thought, are likely to be written down, drawn up or otherwise stored in a form that is accessible to multiple people across time and space. This allows more reliable collaboration in the execution of the plan.

==Topics==

===Planning===
The term [planning](/source/planning) implies the working out of sub-components in some degree of elaborate detail. Broader-brush enunciations of objectives may qualify as metaphorical [roadmap](/source/Technology_roadmap)s. Planning literally just means the creation of a plan; it can be as simple as making a [list](/source/task_list). It has not acquired a technical meaning, however, to cover the area of [government](/source/government)  [legislation](/source/legislation) and [regulation](/source/regulation)s elated to the use of resources.

Planning can refer to the planned use of any and all resources, as in the succession of [Five-Year Plan](/source/Five-year_plans_of_the_Soviet_Union)s through which the government of the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) sought to develop the country. However, the term is most frequently used in relation to planning for the use of land and related resources, for example in [urban planning](/source/urban_planning), [transportation planning](/source/transportation_planning), etc.

In a governmental context, "planning" without any qualification is most likely to mean the regulation of [land use](/source/land_use). See also [zoning](/source/zoning).

===Planners===
Planners are the professionals that have the requisite training to take or make decisions that will help or balance the society in order to have a functional, aesthetic, and convenient environment.

===Methodology===
Concepts such as [top-down planning](/source/top-down_planning) (as opposed to bottom-up planning) reveal similarities with the [systems thinking](/source/systems_thinking) behind the [top-down model](/source/top-down_model).

The subject touches such broad fields as [psychology](/source/psychology), [game theory](/source/game_theory), [communication](/source/communication)s and [information theory](/source/information_theory), which inform the planning methods that people seek to use and refine; as well as [logic](/source/logic) and [science](/source/science) (i.e. methodological naturalism) which serve as a means of testing different parts of a plan for reliability or consistency.

The specific methods used to create and refine plans depend on who is to make it, who is to put it to use, and what resources are available for the task. The methods used by an [individual](/source/individual) in his or her [mind](/source/mind) or [personal organizer](/source/personal_organizer), may be very different from the collection of planning techniques found in a [corporate](/source/corporation) board-room, and the planning done by a [project manager](/source/project_manager) has different priorities and uses different tools to the planning done by an [engineer](/source/engineer) or [industrial designer](/source/industrial_designer).

==Examples of plans==
* [Architectural plan](/source/Architectural_plan)
* [Business plan](/source/Business_plan)
* [Fragplan](/source/Fragplan)
* [Flight plan](/source/Flight_plan)
* [Health plan](/source/Health_plan)
* [Marketing plan](/source/Marketing_plan)
* [Military plan](/source/Military_plan)
* [Project plan](/source/Project_plan)
* [Site plan](/source/Site_plan)
* The [Schlieffen Plan](/source/Schlieffen_Plan)
* The [Five-Year Plan](/source/Five-year_plans_of_the_Soviet_Union) system in the former [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union)
* The [Marshall Plan](/source/Marshall_Plan)

==See also==
* [Automated planning](/source/Automated_planning)
* [Critical path method](/source/Critical_path_method)
* [PDCA](/source/PDCA) (plan–do–check–act)
* [Program evaluation and review technique](/source/Program_evaluation_and_review_technique) (PERT)
* [Roadmap](/source/Technology_roadmap)
* [Strategy](/source/Strategy)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote|plans}}

Category:Management
Category:Intention
Category:Planning

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.