I have to use a basic outline for the current stories I have in production. However, that's because they're all media tie-in stories. I have to submit my proposal to the licensor, who wants to know exactly what I'm going to do with their product before they'll let me play with it.
Now, have I veered away from the proposal? Sure, but the basics to the story can't change once they've approved the work.
Work-for-hire novels/short stories are obviously a unique creature unto themselves, but if you want to play in that particular sandbox, then you have to play according to their rules.
However, having gotten used to that concept, my current WIP, an original fantasy novel, has a 14 page chapter breakdown outline. Again, I've already varied from the outline several times, but I'm still on the basic story.
For me, I LIKE doing outlines, character sketches, backgrounds, histories, etc. long before I ever start writing the story. If I "know" the world, it's easier to write in (and keep character's eye color, hair color, etc. straight), rather than just making it up on the fly.
But, then again, I think my training as a historian and an analyst tend to make me a fairly linear thinker. I CAN make the jump from point A to point G, but I need to know what B, C, D, E, and F probably are to feel comfortable.
Not everyone writes alike (thank goodness).
I see several people here who if I watched them work, I'd probably go nuts wondering how they do it, and I'd probably drive them nuts too. That's why, from a
reader's perspective, book writing is like sausage making. The less you know about what goes into it, the more you can concentrate on just enjoying it.