I do lots of freelance iOS work, and I've noticed that people approach me with "Ideas" that they would like implemented, but they are not fleshed out at all. For example, I get a request for a "textbook sales app which acts as a marketplace for students to buy and sell textbooks", with no business plan or specs whatsoever. How do I encourage more thought out plans, and what tools do I point the prospective clients to? in terms of user interaction/ stories/ design?
It sort of depends on what you're asking for.<p>If it's around the business model, the easy answer is to point them to a book like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous/dp/0307887898" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continu...</a> There are great techniques in there for how to do customer development -- at this point it seems like required reading for business/product folks.<p>If you're looking for more mockups, something like Balsamiq is a good starting point.<p>Is there something else you're looking for?