Actually, starting with third instalment created some eureka moments when going back to play previous games. Also, when I later replayed the trilogy in order I've caught some details I missed the first time through (e.g. where did Haru's necklace come from).
Concerning the postmortem - this is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for sharing. I see that the process is not always straightforward, but you have to keep on going. There is just one more thing that intrigues me - how do you choose which jams to participate in?