The projects that go well share three things before a line of code is written: clear scope, clear data ownership, and a decision-maker who can make the call. When any of those is missing, the project pays for it later, usually in weeks, not days.
Scope clarity doesn't mean a fixed spec, it means both sides can answer 'what does done look like' in one sentence. If that sentence takes a meeting to produce, the project isn't ready to start.
Data ownership sounds obvious until it isn't. Who owns the records the system produces? Where do they live? What happens to them if the engagement ends? These questions have right answers, and the time to ask them is before kickoff, not during a dispute.
And the decision-maker: projects stall when every choice routes through a committee. One person who can say yes or no, and whose yes means yes, is worth more than any technical requirement on the list.
Saying no is part of the job. A project that starts misaligned doesn't get fixed by effort, it gets fixed by honesty early. The checklist isn't gatekeeping; it's how both sides protect the work.
