A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective. See also strategy. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. For spatial or planar topologic or topographic sets see map.
Plans can be formal or informal:
- Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in projects, diplomacy, careers, economic development, military campaigns, combat, or in the conduct of other 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.
- Informal or 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.
Other articles related to "formal":
... Formal methods, mathematically-based techniques for the specification, development and verification of software and hardware systems Formal ...
... Formal theory can refer to Another name for a theory which is expressed in formal language ... by symbols and its operators Formal theory from political science, the theoretical modeling of social systems based on game theory, dynamical systems theory, among ...
... Students are not required to wear gowns at formal halls, with exception of at certain college feasts ... In special formal meals such as Matriculation Dinner or Scholars' Feast the Master usually raises a toast, first to The Queen and then to “Sir Winston" ... In other formal halls this is usually made by a senior student once the fellows have left ...
... Individuals are deemed undesirable in urban space because they do not fit into social norms, which causes unease for many residents of certain neighborhoods ... This fear has been deepened by the Broken Windows Theory and exploited in policies seeking to remove undesirables from visible areas of society ...
... solely to the final year, it may be described as a Ball, School Formal, or simply Formal ... a Dinner-dance, Leavers' Dinner or Debutante Ball but is also commonly called a School Formal or "Formal" ... have a Valedictory Dinner, which is like the formal but has students, parents and teachers instead of students and dates ...
Famous quotes containing the words plans and/or formal:
“A father ... knows exactly what those boys at the mall have in their depraved little minds because he once owned such a depraved little mind himself. In fact, if he thinks enough about the plans that he used to have for young girls, the father not only will support his wife in keeping their daughter home but he might even run over to the mall and have a few of those boys arrested.”
—Bill Cosby (20th century)
“That anger can be expressed through words and non-destructive activities; that promises are intended to be kept; that cleanliness and good eating habits are aspects of self-esteem; that compassion is an attribute to be prizedall these lessons are ones children can learn far more readily through the living example of their parents than they ever can through formal instruction.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)