I recently wrote a series of posts on the dozen-or-so steps I use in analyzing a track plan. A couple of readers mentioned to me that it can be hard to follow because of the inverse chronological nature of a blog and the way blogger manages archives, so here's an index to those posts.
Part 1 covered Seeing the Space, not a Table, Trackplan Schematics, and Staging
Part 2 talked about Reality-based Rendering, Train Capacity and Balance, and Leads, Runarounds, and Switchbacks
Part 3 described considerations for Yards
Part 4 included the Four Cornerstones of Layout Design and "PICS" for Model Railfanning
Part 5 finished up with Layout Vision, Story Telling, and Synchronicity