Brainstorm possible topics and products. You can begin with just a product or just a topic - you don't have to have both in the beginning. Make sure to talk with your parents, especially if you will need to purchase materials.
Preliminary research - do a little research on the different topics to see which ones are most feasible given the time, your interests, materials and any costs.
Narrow down your topic and product - After brainstorming, choose a specific product you want to create or topic you want to explore.
Think ATL skills - you will need to state the ATL skills this project helped you develop and give evidence of your growth throughout the project.
Choose a format for your process journal, where you will be logging all your ideas, research, and evidence - this can be electronic (such as a Google Site or Blog) or written in a notebook.
Develop an Action Plan - This is especially important as more emphasis is placed on developing and updating your action plan, which will be submitted to the IB. Changes are expected - inquiry is messy!
Maintain your evidence - Aim to have at least one piece of evidence a week to share with your supervisor and submit in your report. Evidence can be commentary, pictures, videos, etc. You'll be putting that evidence in your process journal.
Study the criteria for the report - read the objectives and criteria so that you can set yourself up for success.