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OMG, this is waterfall, not AGILE.

Agile is great for internal projects when you already have a clear idea in your head and know what you're trying to do, but whenever you're working with a client the biggest obstacle is that they aren't exactly sure what they want themselves. In that case the up front documentation and planning takes a little more time but it at least cuts down on scope creep substantially. The actual documentation can be referenced to and there aren't any surprises to the client. I used to go straight into it with less documentation but then when you're half way through the client asks "what about this?" or "won't it do that?" that's when you'll be glad that you have the documentation to backup what you're doing and why.

I probably should have specified that this is for working on client projects, because my own projects are definitely not as documented and linear.

Also, I can assure you that the documentation and planning, after working on so many projects with different clients, is really not as drawn out and painful as it sounds. You get much faster and better at them the more you do them.

Agile works great in small teams for internal projects, but when you're working with clients the waterfall / more documentation method is the best way to go in the end, at least that's what my experience has taught me.
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