10 Steps to Plan Better so you can Write Less Code

As a full-stack developer, one of the most important lessons I‘ve learned is that thorough planning is essential for efficient software development. An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes. By investing time upfront to plan out your application, you can save yourself from writing a lot of unnecessary code later on.

In this article, I‘ll share a structured 10-step workflow that I use to guide my planning process for new software projects. We‘ll plan out a simple "todo list" single-page web app as an example. The goal is to illustrate the key considerations at each stage to help you plan your own projects more effectively.

1. Create a project management board

The first step is to create a virtual workspace to organize your planning and development process. I like to use Trello, which lets you break projects down into small, trackable tasks displayed as cards on a board.

Start by creating a board for your project with columns for:

• To Do: tasks that are planned but not started
• In Progress: tasks currently being worked on
• Done: completed tasks ready for testing

As you go through the rest of the planning steps, you can create cards for each task and put them in the appropriate column. This gives you a visual overview of the project status.

2. Write user stories

Next, define the key features and functionality of your app from an end user perspective. A helpful technique is to write user stories in the format:

As a [type of user], I can [do something].

For our todo list example, we might have stories like:

• As an anonymous user, I can register a new account or log in to an existing account
• As a logged-in user, I can view my list of todo items
• As a logged-in user, I can add, complete, or delete todo items

User stories help clarify who will use the app and what they should be able to do with it. Limit stories to one specific action each. Avoid vague stories like "As a user, I can manage my todo list" in favor of more granular stories for each operation.

3. Create a use case model

With your user stories defined, the next step is to map out the major interactions between the user and the system. A use case model is a diagram that shows the different use cases and how they are connected.

For each user story, identify the steps involved and the data that needs to be exchanged. Also consider alternate flows and edge cases, like what happens if the user enters invalid data.

Here‘s a simplified use case diagram for our example app:

The use case model gives you a high-level view of the app‘s requirements that you can refer back to throughout the planning process. It also helps you communicate the scope of the project to other stakeholders.

4. Create an activity diagram

An activity diagram is another helpful visual tool for modeling the workflow of an application. It shows the different paths a user can take through the app, from entry point to final outcome.

For our todo list app, the activity diagram might look something like:

Some key paths to include:

• Registration for new users and login for existing users
• Viewing the todo list (which may be empty initially)
• Adding a new todo item
• Marking a todo as completed
• Deleting a todo item
• Logging out of the app

The activity diagram helps you determine the major navigation paths through the app. You can also use it to identify places where validation or error handling need to occur, like during user registration and login.

5. Design user interface mockups

With the functionality mapped out, you can turn your attention to the user interface design. Create mockups or wireframes showing what each screen of the app should look like.

Sketch out the key pages you identified from the use case and activity diagrams, including:

• Login and registration pages
• Main todo list view
• Screens for adding and editing todo items
• Confirmation dialogs for deleting items
• Error message displays

Add annotations to specify elements like headers, input fields, buttons, and links. Use placeholders for text and images. Focus on the layout and don‘t worry about visual details like colors and fonts yet.

Mockups are much faster to iterate on than working code. Get feedback early from potential users or teammates to refine the interface before investing time in implementation.

6. Choose a technology stack

Now that you know what you‘re building, it‘s time to decide how to build it. Your choice of technologies will depend on factors like the type of app, your team‘s existing skill set, performance and scaling needs, and availability of learning resources.

For a simple web app like our todo list, you can‘t go wrong with a classic LAMP stack – Linux for the operating system, Apache web server, MySQL database, and PHP, Python, or Perl for the backend programming language.

Another popular option is the MEAN stack, which uses MongoDB for the database, Express.js for the server framework, Angular or React for the frontend, and Node.js for the runtime.

Whichever stack you choose, pick tools that are well-documented and widely used so you can tap into the knowledge of the community if you get stuck. Also consider the long-term maintenance of the app and choose technologies you think will be around for a while.

7. Design the database schema

Once you‘ve selected a database, plan out the tables and relationships needed to support your app‘s data model. A well-designed schema will make it easier to maintain data integrity and query the information you need.

At a minimum, our todo list app will require two tables:

• A "users" table to store user account information
• A "todos" table to store the todo items

There will likely be a one-to-many relationship between users and todos, where a single user can have multiple associated todo items.

Sketch an entity-relationship diagram showing the tables and their fields. The users table will need things like:

• Unique identifier (primary key)
• Name
• Email address
• Password (hashed!)
• Timestamps for creation and last update

The todos table might include:

• Unique identifier
• Foreign key to associate a todo with a user
• Description of the task
• Completed status
• Due date
• Priority level
• Timestamps for creation and last update

As you develop the schema, consider the queries you‘ll need to perform and add indexes to optimize common ones, like looking up todos by user. Also think about how data consistency should be maintained, such as cascading deletes of a user‘s todos when their account is removed.

8. Define business rules and edge cases

Before jumping into implementation, take time to specify the business rules and policies that govern your application. This is also a good opportunity to plan for edge cases that could occur.

Example considerations for our todo app include:

• Defining what constitutes a valid user registration (e.g. minimum password length)
• Determining how long a user session can remain idle before being logged out automatically
• Specifying the maximum number of todos a user can have at one time to prevent abuse
• Handling todos that are overdue or have no due date assigned
• Restricting certain operations based on user role (e.g. admins vs regular users)

Documenting these rules upfront will help ensure they are implemented consistently throughout the app. It‘s much easier to hash these out in the planning phase than to try to retrofit them later.

9. Design and test the API

If your app will have a backend API, like to support a mobile client, it‘s beneficial to design the API contract before writing any code. Focus on the shape of the data and the structure of the endpoints, not implementation details.

For a RESTful API, identify the resources that will be exposed (e.g. todos) and specify the HTTP methods supported for each:

• GET /todos – retrieves a list of todos for the current user
• POST /todos – creates a new todo
• GET /todos/:todoId – retrieves details for the specified todo
• PUT /todos/:todoId – updates an existing todo
• DELETE /todos/:todoId – deletes the specified todo

Define the expected request and response payloads for each endpoint using a tool like Swagger. Also think through the authentication and authorization strategy. Will you use API keys, JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), or something else? How will you secure sensitive endpoints?

Once you have a draft of the API spec, write tests for the endpoints and responses before implementing the real functionality. This gives you a way to verify the API works as intended and prevents breaking changes later. Testing tools like Postman are great for simulating client requests.

10. Start implementing

Finally, it‘s time to start writing code! Use your planning artifacts as a roadmap. Break the work down into manageable pieces that can be completed in a few hours or days, like:

• Setting up the development environment and installing dependencies
• Configuring the web server and database
• Implementing the user registration and authentication flow
• Creating the database queries for adding, updating, and deleting todos
• Building out the frontend UI components
• Integrating the frontend and backend
• Writing unit and integration tests
• Setting up a CI/CD pipeline to automate build and deployment

As you go, keep track of your progress in your project management tool. Demo working functionality frequently to get feedback and catch issues early. If requirements change, circle back to your planning docs and update them accordingly before modifying the code.

Conclusion

Investing time to thoroughly plan your software projects will pay dividends in the long run. By following a structured process like the one outlined here, you‘ll have a clear roadmap to guide your implementation.

The 10 key planning steps we covered were:

1. Create a project management board
2. Write user stories
3. Create a use case model
4. Create an activity diagram
5. Design user interface mockups
6. Choose a technology stack
7. Design the database schema
8. Define business rules and edge cases
9. Design and test the API
10. Start implementing

Of course, every project is different and you may need to adapt this workflow to fit your specific needs. The important thing is to adopt a planning mindset and not just dive straight into coding. Your future self will thank you when it comes time to debug, change, or scale your application.

What planning steps do you include in your own software development process? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!