Planning

Definition

Planning is the process by which an agent breaks down a complex goal into a sequence of achievable sub-tasks. Rather than immediately acting on a goal, a planning agent first reasons about what steps are needed, their order, dependencies, and potential obstacles.

Planning can be: - Explicit: Generate a plan document before execution - Implicit: Make step-by-step decisions without formal plan articulation - Static: Plan once, then execute - Dynamic: Re-plan as execution reveals new information

Why It Matters

Planning improves agent performance on complex tasks:

Reduces errors: Thinking before acting catches potential problems early.

Improves efficiency: Good plans avoid redundant work and optimize step ordering.

Enables complex tasks: Some goals simply cannot be achieved without decomposition.

Supports evaluation: Plans provide checkpoints for progress assessment.

However, planning has costs. Time spent planning is time not acting. Over-planning can be as harmful as under-planning.

Planning Approaches

Single-shot planning: Generate complete plan upfront, execute sequentially. Simple but brittle—plans break when assumptions fail.

Iterative planning: Plan a few steps, execute, then re-plan based on results. More adaptive but slower.

Hierarchical planning: High-level plan decomposes to mid-level, then to concrete actions. Handles complexity but requires careful abstraction.

Reactive execution: Don't explicitly plan; decide action at each step based on current state. Fast but may lack coherence on complex tasks.

Common Misconceptions

"Always plan first" Simple tasks don't need planning. The overhead may exceed benefits.

"Plans should be detailed" Over-detailed plans become rigid. Good plans specify enough to guide action while allowing adaptation.

"Plans don't change" Plans should be updated as execution reveals new information. Rigid adherence to outdated plans causes failures.