I'm a visual hands on type of person. Probably comes from building with Erector sets, Lego, Tinkertoys, and Lincoln Logs as a kid. So as such, I tried planning in software how I wanted my layout, but then just bought the track and switches and at least put it on the table (not attached, just connected enough to run a train) and then played with that for about a week. After that, you will get a feel for if the plan works or not. Then cut your access holes. Now yes, I used Fastrack and that's easier during this layout phase as you can just plug it together and run. Custom flex track, custom curves, Gargraves or other track, it's harder to just lay it out without partially attaching it to the base. Again, I found this method let me see things that might work in software, but in real life simply did not work. Saves you on some of the rework later IMO. Again, having had the same question myself, I actually put the track down, ran some trains for a few days to see how I liked it, and then figured out if the layout plan even worked before cutting holes.
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