Coins
So, Ethereum and storj are two that i am following really closely right now. Ethereum's githib is here
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/issuesand, if you goto the ISSUES section you can see where the developers are chatting about various changes in the code. If you understand a little bit of coding, you can sometimes figure out what they are doing before they get there.
Many of the projects also release a whitepaper, which is very technical, but if you know what to look for, you can sometimes pick the winners from the scams.
Also, most of these projects have a REDDIT sub where it's fans post related news. All of this comes into play when finding the right projects to back.
Storj is similar, here is their github:
https://github.com/Storj/node-storj/issuesand their slack:
https://storj-inviter.herokuapp.com/so you join in there and watch what's going on, Almost every time there is about to be a new release I watch the price go up. The next trick is being able to know when it's hit the because it can go down even quicker if new problems are discovered.