I don't consider myself as experts compare to some of the big names, but my habits have served me well.

1. Don't assume anything. Go in with an open mind and blank canvas. I can't tell you how many times I've been in design meetings where engineers assume they know how things are gonna work, before clients even open their mouths. I can't tell you how many times clients assume they know how technology works before we explain to them.

2. Iterate and validate as fast as you can within reason. Don't do waterfall, at least not at the beginning. Design, build and validate, or even just do napkin design and validate. It'll save you a lot of headaches.

3. Perfect is the enemy of good. When you reach a certain comfort level with your software, ship it. You'll never be able to clean out your tech backlog or bug list.