planremains

Planremains is a term used in discussions of project management and organizational learning to denote the collection of planning artifacts that persist into execution and evaluation phases. It encompasses documents like project charters, scope statements, risk registers, schedules, budgets, decision logs, and design diagrams that were created during the planning stage and continue to influence or be consulted during implementation.

Origin and usage: The term planremains is a neologism that has appeared in management discourse to describe the enduring influence of initial planning. While not widely standardized, it is used in theoretical discussions and some practitioner blogs to emphasize how planning artifacts shape later actions.

Characteristics: Planremains are both tangible (documentary artifacts) and intangible (implicit assumptions). They may exist in current versions, archived forms, or embedded in working models. They enable traceability from plan to action and facilitate post-project learning, but can also constrain adaptability if overemphasized.

Relation to practice: In post-mortems or lessons-learned sessions, analysts examine planremains to understand divergences between plan and actual outcomes, identify persistent constraints, and inform future planning approaches. They also intersect with governance, baselining, and change control.

Criticism: Critics argue that focusing on planremains can overstate the value of initial plans and underplay adaptive, emergent work. They caution against treating artifacts as rigid prescriptions rather than living references.