The first thing I do when I get acquainted with a new project is study WhitePaper. Only there you can find all the necessary information about the project, including the Idea, Team, Prototype, Token Sale and much more.
For me it's necessary to read whitepaper in order to get an idea what kind of project you are participating for and to get familiar with the team behind that project that's also our basis for following projects and its going to succeed may its good decision to follow that team