He is not asking about descend planning.
He is asking about Continuous Descend Approaches and how to plan the slowing down.
I always thought that slowing down was part of the descent planning...
All the ideas presented so far -- both simple and complex -- are valid. use any combination of them that works for you. If it look like the prior planning isn't working, either add thrust or drag (speedbrakes and/or flaps) to correct.