Starting your project?

[binga30]

Hello fellow programmers,

I would just like to know what sort of things should I be doing before i fire up my IDE and start coding. I'm from a web design background and follow the process of working to a mockup/plan of how the website will look. I assume programming is no different.

Is there any resources out there like a design guide/template that will help me plan out my programs on paper first. I currently just seem to pencil down ideas on paper but find it hard to bring it all together.

Should I be writing my program down on paper first before I even start typing in the IDE? Is this what people do?

Thanks for your input.

Steve