Deployment of an RFID system in a business entails a thorough analysis of the 3-dimensional topography in which it is deployed. A deployment field may have multiple floors, multiple entries, multiple exits, and multiple zones and fronts. A graphical deployment application, or visual design tool, provides a graphical representation of the deployment area. Such an application allows visual manipulation of the RFID components in the area to generate realtime graphical feedback about the operation of the dynamically configured deployment. The graphical user interface (GUI) based application receives parameters and variables defining the deployment area and the attributes of the transceivers and transponders for deployment therein. The application identifies a zone of readability of transponders in an area and visually displays such a zone along with the RFID components to determine placement of transceivers accordingly. A normalized scripting language, such as XML, allows definition of the RFID components, which allows a user to manipulate the RFID components in a graphical manner to identify an optimal operating configuration which uses the fewest transceivers to provide transponder coverage.