[bwh2]

Usually I'm building something to scratch my own itch, so I typically jump right into coding. In fact, I usually don't start by thinking, "I should do this as a project." I start just by doing it to solve my own problem, then realize it's pretty cool and I should expand/release it.

That being said, I usually start building out the front-end first. Understanding actual user interaction and use cases is pre-requisite for designing appropriate data models and storage solutions. I basically try to get something up and running as fast as possible, while minimizing the cost to change directions.