Project Planning...

NothingLikeRoot

Me a planer? YA RIGHT!...

And THAT alone is my problem! If I cant see the full program and how to code it in my head at one time, I just cant seem to get the project to work... Every if I try my best to plan out for the project and write up all my ideas and how I am going to do it...

So I was wondering if you know of any (free) articles or online books on this subject that could help me out here... Because I have a project I would like to get started but I do not want to have to scrap it!

I would like to do extensive planning for this project before I Begin and I just cant figure out where to start...

So if you know of any text to read or want to though in your two sense PLEASE DO SO!

Any comment is HIGHLY appreciated!

THANK YOU FOR READING!,
Andrew

leatherback

Hi,

Cannot give you a pag eto read, but i can give you an idea on how I do it..

In general, I start with te basics of what a site needs to do:

Website for real estate agent

Then I look at the sections:

Introduction
About Selling
About buying
other services
current houses
contact details

Then for each section, I start looking at each page which is needed

Introduction:
- History of company
- Fylosofie of comp
- People working there
- Pictures of building

..
..

Contact details:
- Address
- Phone / Fax
- Web based feedback form

THen, for each page you can start filling the individual routines needed. If yo break it up like this, you do not need to know the project at once. You do know at each level the building blocks.

Hope this helps?

AstroTeg

I would say this is a skill one develops over time. You really can't pick up a book or ask a forum for the solve-all answer. And how one person does it does not mean its the only way or the correct way.

It takes time and practice. The more projects you do, the better you will be at planning them.

NothingLikeRoot

Thank you all of your replies...

leatherback:
Thank you for your help... This is what I normally do I just seem to get off track easyly... I guess I should just concentae on one thing at a time...

AstroTeg:
I figured it would be something hard to 'explaine' but I should say that I am more looking at what other people and the types of infomation they put into it... Do you have a layout that can easly be followed durrning the development... This also would to be very infomative as it will be relased with the software also...

Thank you for all your time!

Andrew

AstroTeg

For my projects that I work on and manage, I try to sketch the difficult or challenging aspects of the project.

Lately I've been doing web sites, so I'll give you a web site example:

Figure out what the client needs and bullet point it (it'll be needed for the proposal). This typically is the pages needed to complete the site.
if a database is needed, design the table structure
From the table structure, determine what admin controls are needed
Determine how data will be used on the site and what "gotchas" may be involved.

For software development, I choose the divide and conquer approach. I look at the key component of the app (what I like to call the "show stopper") and figure out how to make it work. If I can't figure out how I'll build it, then building the rest of the app is pointless. This is part of the divide and conquer process. As you divide the problem up, your goal is to at least conquer a part of the divided problem. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the problems. Notice this approach is much different then the web dev approach I already described. Different problems will require different approaches.

planetsim

A Branching Diagram of each page with descriptions always helps.

As well as a database design, see if everything is covered from the run down on requirements probably given by your client.

Arc

Create a Hierarchy chart. Break the project down into modules and lay them out in a family tree sort of way.

NothingLikeRoot

Thank you for all your replays... I will take them in mind... I also found a "outline" that I can kinda of follow in the design...

Though I like the idea of having a cart with all the different components in it... Though it may be large...

Thanks Again!,
Andrew