The heart of electronics is building things. The reason for learning all the theory is so you can practice the art by actually building circuits and putting them to use. Electronic projects typically follow this predictable sequence of steps from start to finish:

  1. Decide what you want to build.

    Before you can design or build an electronic project, you must have a solid idea in mind for what you expect the project to do, what you want it to look like, and how human beings will interact with it.

  2. Design the circuit.

    Once you've settled on what you want to build, you need to design an electronic circuit that gets the job done. The end result of this step is a schematic diagram.

  3. Build a prototype.

    Before you invest the time and materials needed to build a permanent circuit, it's a good idea to first build a prototype, which lets you quickly test the circuit to make sure it works. Usually, you build the prototype on a solderless breadboard.

  4. Build a permanent circuit.

    Once your prototype is working, you can build a permanent version of the circuit. Usually, you build the permanent version by soldering components onto a printed circuit board.

  5. Finish the project.

    To finish the project, you mount the circuit board along with any other necessary components such as batteries, switches, or light-emitting diodes in a suitable enclosure.