Alternate word for "very inaccurate plan"

Question

I found out that I always want to make plans about things, but rarely follow my plan. For example, sometimes I would publish a plan about software release, but missing the projected deadline by a lot, sometimes the release never get published.

Usually, I know beforehand that I most likely cannot follow the plan.

I thought about just using "very inaccurate plan" but that sounds weird.

I have a very inaccurate plan to implement this feature by 2022 Q1.

What is a word for such plans?

Edit: Using "My intention is to implement this feature by 2022 Q1." doesn't work when the "very inaccurate plan" is a link to a detailed roadmap.

Edit 2: Another way to say it without sounding as weird as the example did, however many words it would take, is acceptable, too.

Answer 1

Inaccurate doesn't really work here, because it means something like "not matching an existing standard", and your point (I think) is that you don't have an existing standard.

You could say you have a rough plan, meaning that it is not detailed, or a loose plan, meaning that it is not intended to be adhered to strictly, or a tentative plan if you expect that it might change.

Answer 2

I would call it a "provisional plan" - a plan based on what you know at the time you're answering the question.

My understanding is that you don't know whether the plan will be accurate or not, so describing it as "very inaccurate" is likely to lead to people wondering why you didn't make it more accurate. You're right. That sounds weird.

If it's as accurate as you can make it based on current information, your plan is "provisional".

[You could also call it a "draft plan", which, like "provisional", suggests it might be subject to later revision.]

Answer 3

I'm not sure if there's a single word that exactly fits there (but I'm not a native speaker) but you could simply say

My intention is to implement this feature by 2022 Q1.

The word itself already indicates it's less certain and vaguer than a plan, I don't think it needs an extra adjective.

Answer 4

You say you know beforehand that you aren't likely to follow the plan. Using "provisional," "tentative," "loose," or "rough" implies that the plan is your best guess, but there is a lot of uncertainty. If that's the case, all of those are good choices.

If you're deliberately making a plan that is unlikely to succeed, because you're under pressure to come in under your required budget, finish sooner than you can, or use fewer resources than you need, I'd call it an implausible plan, a plan that is unlikely to be implemented, or a project that is unlikely to be executed according to plan. You might not want to actually say that to a client or employer, though. It makes it sound like you're planning to fail.

Answer 5

Vague:

I have a vague plan for to implement this feature by 2022 Q, expect a more accurate one later.

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Vague (adj.):

• not clearly expressed: stated in indefinite terms:
  vague accusations
• not having a precise meaning:
  a vague term of abuse
• not clearly defined, grasped, or understood:
  only a vague notion of what's needed

Answer 6

I would call a plan like this optimistic. Most likely with a qualifier such a wildly or extremely.

If a plan is described as wildly optimistic, most readers would understand that the given deadlines will not be met.

The unwritten conditions of an optimistic plan might be;

If everything goes right first time, no one gets sick, all external dependencies are delivered on time, nothing unexpected happens and we make a couple of mistakes that accidentally turn out to be brilliant solutions we will deliver in Q1 of 2022.

Answer 7

Thinking about how I would say this to someone, it would probably be something like:

I have a general idea of how I’m going to implement this feature by 2022 Q1.

Answer 8

You have created a tentative plan:

Tentative, from M-W:

1: not done with confidence : uncertain and hesitant

2: not definite : still able to be changed

Answer 9

Particularly for software development, you could say that it's a "strawman" (would be considered jargon outside that context I think though):

A straw-man (or straw-dog) proposal is a brainstormed simple draft proposal intended to generate discussion of its disadvantages and to provoke the generation of new and better proposals. The term is considered American business jargon,[1] but it is also encountered in engineering office culture.

Often, a straw man document will be prepared by one or two people prior to kicking off a larger project. In this way, the team can jump start their discussions with a document that is likely to contain many, but not all, of the key aspects to be discussed.

Like many software practices, it comes from the US military background. The wiki page above talks about proposals going through "tougher" sounding revisions (iron man, stone man) — in practice, I've never come across that personally.

If you say you've created a 'strawman roadmap for Q1 2022', then you're implying that everything is subject to change & probably overlooking details that might change things

Answer 10

sketchy plan

Merriam Webster defines sketchy as:

1 : of the nature of a sketch : roughly outlined

2 : wanting in completeness, clearness, or substance : slight, superficial the details are sketchy

3 : questionable, iffy got into a sketchy situation