For a project of any significant size :
* Have a crystal clear idea of what you want built.*
This is itself most of the work. It is surprisingly hard for business people to understand that writing software is actually "specifying What needs to be coded" for 50% of the effort.
Right on. I don't mean companies need to have a project spec in hand from day one though, but rather that their own goals are clearly defined.
I'm happy to help them come up with the spec. But if the client can't give you an elevator pitch for what you're going to build for them, run for the door.
