Communicate, Analyze and Document
Years as freelancer have taught me to listen, Understand the product and partition solutions and validate expectations. Nothing kills a project more than a lack of communication, validating concepts is the essence of any successful project
Develop & Debug
Integrate your development with your Debugging. The number one reason for stable code comes when developers elevate debugging into their workflow. Nothing gives you a better inside then debugging what you made. Not as an afterthought but as a development principle.