Every time I start a new project, I find myself following this process.

Discovery

Discovery - This pretty much means research. Research about the customers we want to serve, the message we want to convey (editorially and visually), the brand we want to build, the product we want to launch and ultimately, the business we want to run.

Foundation

Foundation focuses on both the business and brand. The operating assumption is that we may throw away the product but we'll want to upkeep the brand as much as possible.

Production

Product is a little bit more all-encompasing than just a website or app. It's all the little details we tend to forget that an app needs before launch. For example: iTunes screen shots, iTunes copy, Adwords copy, landing page copy and e-mail verified copy. All of that stuff.

Measurement

Measurement focuses on how we aim to track success. A good rule of thumb for me is:

• Does this project do good for the community?
• Does this project earn a profit?
  • If not, then does it earn revenue?
    • If not, then does it have prospective buyers?
      • If not, then does it at least have users?
        • If yes, then how much is it costing us to acquire the users?
          • If we have users, then how often are those users are verified through Digits, Facebook, Twitter or e-mail?
            • If users are verified, then how often do those users return to use the app? Hourly? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
              • If there are daily users? How often does the app crash?
                if there are crashes? How expensive is it to fix those crashes?