Just go for it straight away, don't plan anything, just start typing. Just keep in the back of your mind that what you're writing is a prototype. After a whil

Just go for it straight away, don't plan anything, just start typing. Just keep in the back of your mind that what you're writing is a prototype. After a while of tapping away at the keyboard (minutes, or hours, or days, ...) you will suddenly see the problem in a much clearer way. At that point don't be afraid to: 1) Rewrite large sections of your prototype where your initial assumptions were wrong 2) Start again Once you feel you've got a real handle on the problem, (and depending on the size of the project), it could be time to start some formal design based on what you now know.