Draw Diagrams

If you are having trouble designing your software, try drawing the design. Drawing helps you visualize the problem so you can see all the different pieces and how they fit together. I like drawing (as evidenced by all my drawings in this book)—although I’m not that great at it (also evidenced by all my drawings in this book)—so drawing really works for me. The great thing about drawing is that it can be really quick. You don’t have to build or even write anything. You might not get the design quite right in your first drawing, but at least you didn’t waste much time; just grab another piece of paper and start over. When you get it right, your drawing can also serve as documentation. Figure 11.2 is one of many diagrams I drew while planning a recent project.

Figure 11.2 One of the many diagrams I drew while trying to come up with a good architecture for a recent project