Chris Selig

According to Chris Crawford, here are the main concepts of the "game design sequence."
(or at least the one's I believe to be the most relevant)

1. Research and Preparation:
Ideation & concepts. Research your subject... know what you're doing before you do it.

2. Design Phase
"The I/O structure, the game structure, and the program structure."

3. Game & Program Structure
Identify key elements and build around them.

4. Pre & Post Programming
Self explanatory. Basically just putting the game structure together. He says that this is the easiest part of game design.

5. Evaluation of Design
Check for problems in the design and programming. e.g. Fixing any unintentional shortcuts, or limiting certain variables like money.

6. "Post Mortem"
Prepare for harsh criticism.