Planning projects

[jammas615]

Hey guys,
I figured that if i dont plan my projects from now on, the same thing is going to happen every time i begin a new one. I start and run into a wall, and then try something else, and then something else. By the time i stop and look back, I have code that is all over the place and something that is nothing like what i wanted or not working.

So, If you plan your projects, how do YOU do it? Have you found a way that works?

What i have though of so far is at least an Aim of the project and a description, but what else?

Regards, James.

[sunde887]

I don't plan as much as I should, but I believe it will be helpful to be able to write down the classes you will need and try and understand what everything will do. This way, when you begin to actually implement it, you will already have everything done. Basically you want the planning phase to contain all the following. What things can a class do? What other classes do they need? What kind of state will they have? How will they work together? etc.

[nephos]

It might be helpful to create UML diagrams like class diagrams, sequence diagrams, use case etc so you know the architecture before you start.

You could also write algorithms in pseudo code before you start so it is easier to implement them once you begin coding. :)