# Planning

> In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Whether it comes naturally or is the result of a concerted effort and process, every [[Systems|system]] plans to achieve the same benefits:

- [[Focus]] on the right priorities.
- Clear Ownership.
- [[Coordination]].
- High shipping velocity.

The goal of planning is to get to a unified and realistic plan for what the system is collectively working towards over a given time horizon. It is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that happens at different levels of granularity.

To help with planning, you should have these things:

- Long-term Vision Statement. Where are you going?
- [[Writing a Roadmap|Roadmap]]. A unified view of what the team is working towards shipping.
- List of options.

No matter what the final plan is, [[Teamwork|document it]] and you'll have a log of all the plans to reflect back on.

Speed is important. [You can build / do things quickly](https://learnhowtolearn.org/how-to-build-extremely-quickly/).

1. Make an outline of the project. [Plan to build something as quickly as possible and modify it as needed in the future](https://wiki.c2.com/?PlanToThrowOneAway).
2. For each item in the outline, make an outline. Do this recursively until the items are small.
3. Fill in/do each item as fast as possible. Do not perfect/iterate them as you go. [Doing it badly is doing the thing](https://www.softwaredesign.ing/blog/doing-the-thing-is-doing-the-thing).
4. Finally, once completely done, go back and perfect.