What Strategies Have Worked Best for Dispute Avoidance?

I was talking with a few colleagues recently about how many project disagreements seem to start from small issues that were never addressed early, and the discussion shifted toward dispute avoidance rather than resolving conflicts after they become formal disputes. I have not dealt with many situations like that myself, so I am curious what approaches people have found most effective in practice. Was it stronger communication, clearer documentation, regular project reviews, or involving independent input before positions became fixed? I would love to hear real experiences and lessons that others have learned along the way.