Sketch of mapping tool

I thought it would be fun to document the process of creating the free interactive property mapping tool I am developing because friends of mine ask me how I go about developing certain web applications.

I always start with a sketch of the entire application first including all the pages involved. The page shown above is the core of the mapping tool where a person using the tool enters their properties in one at a time. I then took this sketch to people I respect in the industry and asked for their input, because the original sketch is what I think property managers and real estate agents might like. But my ideas are sometimes not what other people want.

I like to sketch the paper prototype up in pencil first, that way people are more willing to give honest recommendations if they feel it is ok to mark it up.

The sketch above shows what your site would look like after you have added the code we provide to have the map pull into your site.

I find that spending a lot of time on the sketches really helps save time in the long run, because I hate having to go back and recode something because I didn’t think it through enough.

The next step is sketching out the database tables that will hold the information. Then you have to look at each sketch and ask yourself how someone might screw the system up, try and think of everything that they could do wrong and have a solution for it.

I like surf my sketches in my mind and think of all the paths a visitor can take - this will bring up many questions that you will need to answer. I also like to draft out the folder and file name structure, I have come to appreciate well labeled file names. That is what I am working on now.

If you have any suggestions for this tool please let me know so I can get them included as we start coding this free tool up.