Ian, I don't specifically use a Zone thinking method. I measure the light on highlight and shadow sides of the subject, with the dome facing away. This gives me the full range of values. I then decide where I want to place the highlights and shadows. Lately I am using C-41 film, so development is not really a big contributor in this (for me). I use normal C-41 developing times, so my exposure needs to fit the subject into the film latitude, given the C-41 process. If the subject values fall within the film total scale, then good. If not, I have a choice to make in terms of which values to prioritize, which for me is normally to avoid blown highlights.

Black and white for me uses the same approach, but you have more ability to change film speed and development time to control things.

Sekonic's website has good videos that have helped me with metering. SergeiR gave a good suggestion to consider Dean Collins' approach to understanding lighting. He has a good video on YouTube talking about the range of values and capturing them on film.