A good book for about £20 is "the ultimate trading guide" (pruitt, Hill, Hill, from memory )that describes the basic systems that many others are developed from.
Also, look at the mechanical systems forum here at T2W. Search for posts by Fettered Chino's who's shared some great spreadsheets that should stimulate your thoughts.
Personally I dont really like the article, and a lot of people will probably discount whats being said, but the key paragraph in the whole article, which Ive included below, comes about as close to a good description of the process that Ive ever seen.
the task is solved on the level of common sense and elementary knowledge of algebra and geometry. The market’s natural characteristics, such as its ability to move in two directions only, the existence of tendencies and minimum amplitude of movement within a period of time are known to everyone and provide enough initial data for building a practically applicable and efficient methodology of profiting from market fluctuations
There's another article (in 2 or 3 parts I think) which discusses the design of an opening range break out system, and provides a suggested approach. For anyone completely new the approach might at the very least will get you thinking on the right lines and asking the right questions. I cant find the article at the moment, but its definitely there in the knowledge lab
There's an appendix in John Murpheys book on TA by a guy named fred schutzman which is worth a read. This will probably give you a reasonable framework on which to build.