Generating a Timeline
You’ve generated a comprehensive mind map, and you’ve got some page sketches... you’re doing great. You now have the information you need to proceed to the next step, and that’s the creation of a flow chart. While the mind map gives you all the details of how your Web site is to be constructed, it does not give you that information in chronological order.
The flow chart takes the information obtained from the mind map and places it into an ordered timeline. For example, what do you work on first, second, third? Do you call Harold and ask for his help today on Final Cut Pro, or can it wait a bit. The flow chart is like the construction of a house; you start with the foundation, and move on. What do you think would happen if the drywall workers sealed up the walls to a new home before the electrician’s had a chance to install the internal wiring?
In our case, you might design a really cool navigation system in Flash (took days of time); however, as you build the site, you realize that you left several pages out. Now, you’ve got to consume more time by going back and changing the Flash Navigation. The flow chart will help to reduce or eliminate such problems. It will also let you know where you stand in the construction of the site, and will help you complete your site successfully and on time.
Sample Timeline