Pre-planning

Judgeneo · 12 May 2014 at 11:44

What on earth is this.

I've seen the usage of this term become a lot more regular over the last year or so, and its always irked me.

According to the Oxford English dictionary, the definitions of plan, and pre-plan are the same.

Pre-plan:
verb [with object] (usually as adjective pre-planned)

Plan in advance

Plan
verb (plans, planning, planned)[with object]

Decide on and make arrangements for in advance

Do you pre-plan to use unnecessary prefixes in your vocabulary? Or do you hate it like I do?

hughtrimble · 12 May 2014 at 11:47

I take the pre-plan stage of a project being when you assemble the relevant people together to create 'the plan'.

I use it frequently.

ocmanus · 12 May 2014 at 11:52

In what context? I've seen and heard pre-plan, in regards to home planning applications, used for meetings with planning officers before an actual plan is submitted so that your actual plan adheres to their guidelines so that it is passed with greater certainty(!)

So I guess pre-plan is used to prepare for the actual act of producing a plan?

DannyDrama · 12 May 2014 at 11:55

So pre-planning = planning to make plans.

OP is right, that's retarded. Just make the plans and quit ****ing about.

dowie · 12 May 2014 at 11:55

hughtrimble said:
I take the pre-plan stage of a project being when you assemble the relevant people together to create 'the plan'.

Isn't that process (creating the plan) called planning... they have been assembled to plan. The OP has a point IMO.

Storm3y · 12 May 2014 at 11:56

DannyDrama said:
So pre-planning = planning to make plans.

OP is right, that's retarded. Just make the plans and quit ****ing about.

It's one of these words invented by these managers who like to talk the talk because they are pretty much clueless about anything else.

DannyDrama · 12 May 2014 at 11:58

Yeah we have one of those in the office, luckily he wields no actual power.

randomshenans · 12 May 2014 at 12:00

But you're not actually working on the plan for the project, it is things that are required to be done before that stage, so pre planning stage.

Atlas23 · 12 May 2014 at 12:01

randomshenans said:
But you're not actually working on the plan for the project, it is things that are required to be done before that stage, so pre planning stage.

Surely that is just the planning stage of the plan?

Planception

Judgeneo · 12 May 2014 at 12:06

randomshenans said:
But you're not actually working on the plan for the project, it is things that are required to be done before that stage, so pre planning stage.

But pre-planning is defined as planning. If your not planning, you can't be pre-planning, your simply mobilising the planning team. Or procrastinating

pepsilol · 12 May 2014 at 12:07

I pre-plan hell of a lot.

I think it's mostly for people who do hell of a lot of procrastination.

All my pre planning is in my head.

Atlas23 · 12 May 2014 at 12:07

Judgeneo said:
But pre-planning is defined as planning. If your not planning, you can't be pre-planning, your simply mobilising the planning team. Or procrastinating

proplastinating

Mat · 12 May 2014 at 12:08

preproplantinating

boxman2000 · 12 May 2014 at 12:10

The word was invented for managers in order to fit in many more meetings... gives them more excuses to sit in meetings looking business like while drinking gallons of coffee and packets of biscuits.

Glaucus · 12 May 2014 at 12:12

There's lots of stages to planning, and it's simply splitting it up a bit more.
You heed to know stuff to make a decent plan. So yes it's all planning, but different stages with different

Planning is hardly the only thing in life we split into more detailed groups.

thep02 · 12 May 2014 at 12:13

I want to do something successfully- a plan would help to achieve this- a quick exercise collating information and materials which will help the planning= pre plan.

cheesyboy · 12 May 2014 at 12:15

Pre-planning sounds even more organised. But it is stupid.

A bit like;

Flammable: Easily set on fire

Inflammable: Easily set on fire

ttaskmaster · 12 May 2014 at 12:16

In our engineering projects, 'Pre-Planning' work is mostly overview investigation into the concern - dye testing, trial holes, surveying, budget estimates, risk analyses and other stuff, to ascertain whether or not there's a problem to begin with and whether or not a full-on detailed study and subsequent project/programme will be a cost-efficient proposal or not.

If it is, that's when we do the detailed study and get into the actual 'Planning' stage.

Judgeneo · 12 May 2014 at 12:21

Glaucus said:
There's lots of stages to planning, and it's simply splitting it up a bit more.
You heed to know stuff to make a decent plan. So yes it's all planning, but different stages with different

Planning is hardly the only thing in life we split into more detailed groups.

thep02 said:
I want to do something successfully- a plan would help to achieve this- a quick exercise collating information and materials which will help the planning= pre plan.

If that was how the word is defined, or even used, I may be able to accept it - preproplastinating is probably a more accurate term for those activites though.

Heres the post that made me remember by disdain:

Resident said:
My local GP's is about the same. You have to pre-plan being ill in order to get an appointment when you need it.

Now if you were to replace pre-plan here with plan, there would be absolutely difference in the sentance.

More examples:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6431637.stm
Pre-plan appears in the title, but reading the article, it says only that plans were in place. Replace pre-plan with plan, and you loose no information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24528530
Again, this use of pre-planned instead of planned makes no difference to the story whatsoever.

I can't ever remember seeing the phrase used to describe the first stage of a plan.

hughtrimble · 12 May 2014 at 12:23

randomshenans said:
But you're not actually working on the plan for the project, it is things that are required to be done before that stage, so pre planning stage.

Exactly