A critical element in the development of any online project is planning. And more specifically in the development of software a term is used called “Prototyping.” The act of sketching or laying out a rough draft of an application before it is actually completed. Over the years the best applications I have seen on the web are those that were planned well in advance.
But doing this can be pretty hectic. Some people use Photoshop, some use Microsoft Word, I’ve even seen people use Microsoft PowerPoint to present to a developer how they want their application to be developed.
Unfortunately these tools take too long to put together quality sketches of your application, and they often times frustrate Developers because they often include things that are not reasonable to develop. That’s where this tool, The Pencil Project for Firefox is going to become quite handy for you. Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like:
What is The Pencil Project?
Pencil Project is basically a tool that helps you layout and plan your web applications. It’s a super lightweight extension for your Firefox Browser that is very easy to use. It’s fully Open Source so you can download it and enjoy all its features. You can use it for not only planning your web applications, but for all sorts of diagramming as well. This screenshot is a diagram I made with Pencil Project to display a Social Media Blueprint that I am working on:
What Do I Use This For?
There are 3 specific ways I plan on using the Pencil Project. It is already helping me tremendously with all these tasks and is saving me so much more time.
- Creating Diagrams = there are already so many tools out their that can do this. But the reason I like Pencil Project for creating my diagrams is because the elements that I can drag and drop in are web elements like web forms, images, pop-ups etc. It also easily exports the diagram to PNG format so that I can display them on my blog.
- Planning for Web Development Projects = I’m already using Pencil Project to plan out my next web applications that I am planning on building. Because I will be getting development help, this is going to save me big time by better communicating to my fellow developers on the little details of the application.
- Blogging Images for communicating my points = sometimes in blogging, it’s very difficult to communicate your message to a variety of readers, just through words. Some people (like me) benefit from images and diagrams. I will be using Pencil Project for creating better visual representations of what I am writing about in many of my articles.
StickGrinder
October 27, 2009
Your timing in givin’ me the right tools for the job I have to make tonight is supernatural!
It’s a while that I follow your blog: I find it one of the best resource form my everyday job and good food for my nerdy appetite!
Carry on! bye
admin
October 27, 2009
Hey man no problem! Glad I could be of assistance. Just let me know what other types of tools you would like me to write about.
StickGrinder
October 27, 2009
I have to say your everyday choice is nearly PERFECT for my needs and tastes. As a freelance webdesigner that’s trying to lose his “code-it-by-yourself-loser” attitude, I focused on Drupal as my favorite platform for its strong abstraction and modularity.
After some months of using Drupal, platform-dependancy enticed me so deep that I tried to look out for nearly every need in search of something I could build upon; I was planning to study Magento for my e-commerce needs and WordPress for simpler sites and “magically” your blog appeard between the waves of Google (no hipe pun intended).
Not to mention your social-approach. I’m really much involved in social appliances, since I’m realizing a “big thing” for Italian editorial market and it will involve social at it’s core.
What to say… THANK YOU!
If you plan to take a trip to Italy, take me in account for a beer!
bye
StickGrinder
October 27, 2009
PS: sorry for my awful english! ^_^ I just noticed some ugly mistake!
admin
October 27, 2009
No worries about the english my friend! I understand what you are saying and I appreciate the compliments. It’s good to know that the content I am publishing each day is helping someone out there.
Your kind comments have motivated me to work harder! Thank you so much!!
StickGrinder
October 27, 2009
If this could make you even more proud, I’m working to put my brand new site up and running to make your very same good work (at least, I hope it could be SO good! ^_^) and spread the word!
Keep up open philosophy. Open source, open mind and open arms.
Bye!
admin
October 27, 2009
post a link when you have it up and live! looking forward to it.