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I prefer building on-line using text I have created in Word and can copy over. Building on-line sets a standard and gives you the opportunity to actually provide oversight and guidance to others you are training as well as learn their behavioral characteristics.
1. Decide a theme, either needed from experience with the world or purely a flight of fancy.
2. Develop ideas of characters in the theme, objects etc on paper as notes, brainstorming, whatever.
3. Map the zone on graph paper.
4. I do room descrips first and usually advise all to do in sets of ten. I do sometimes modify the map as I go, so it's not wise to preload all the rooms first unless it's considerably less than 100 and has spares to use randomly. I'll add my mobs to first ten, extra descrips, directional looks, objects, shops, just about anything necessary to work the theme. THEN I go to the next ten. I do usually recommend a proof by a second party at this point, but I typically don't need one.
The worst thing in the world is think you're done then have to go back and add extras cause you made an "oops."
5. When all mapped rooms are finished, I go back and make sure my grammar, spelling and "fleshing" is finished and the goals of the overall theme are met as well as testing playability from a mortal perspective.
6. I review mob levels and object stats to meet the needs of whatever area the terrain and context fits in the world. Usually making the object stats has this predetermined for you by this time.
7. I create a transition zone between an implemented zone and the new zone that flows smoothly.
8. If a really complex zone, I ask another senior or even junior admin to review for me and at the very least a script expert since I'm lame with them. I also submit to our Balancer for making sure I'm not out of line with stats on objects.
9. Implementation to the players port and frequent oversight to verify playability and balance until it's not a novelty anymore.
My technique, though I wouldn't say I follow it 100% every time.
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