plansthat

Plansthat is a term used in planning theory and applied domains to describe structured collections of plans that are activated or selected conditionally as circumstances change. A plansthat typically comprises multiple individual plans, each associated with specific triggers, contexts, or goals. Rather than a single linear sequence, a plansthat represents a modular and dynamic repertoire of responses that can be navigated by an allocation mechanism, planner, or decision-maker.

Plansthat are organized into libraries or hierarchies, with rules that map situations to appropriate plans and allow substitutions when conditions shift. They may include guards, preconditions, postconditions, and success criteria to guide plan selection and execution. In computational systems, plansthat are implemented as conditional plans, plan libraries, or hierarchical task networks, enabling agents to switch strategies without redesigning the overall plan.

In AI planning, robotics, disaster response, and project management, plansthat support robust operation under uncertainty by providing contingency options. They are used in simulations to test resiliency, and in workflows to automate conditional routing of tasks. Examples include a rescue robot that holds separate navigation and hazard-handling plans, or a project plan that branches to alternative schedules when resource availability changes.

Advantages include flexibility, fault tolerance, and reuse, while challenges encompass the complexity of maintenance, verification of correct plan-selection, potential for conflicting plans within a plansthat, and possible performance overhead. Plansthat are related to conditional planning, plan libraries, and hierarchical task networks; differences lie in emphasis on modular, switchable plan sets versus single monolithic plans. The term is not universally standardized, and terminology varies by field.