Everyone's fortress is different, but this is how I do mine! At least, this is the plan I follow, to varying success.

worldgen

world map - small

history length - 250 years

civs - low

sites - very high

beasts - very low

savagery - very low

minerals - everywhere

embark

high tree/vegetation for efficient herbalists, plenty of wood

clay (porcelain statues)

sand (green glass goblets)

iron and flux

access to all trading civs for broker xp

platinum!

brook so no one falls in

prepare carefully

one prof. appraiser, prof. stone carver

two prof. miner, prof. engraver

three prof. miner, prof. mechanic

four prof. record keeper, prof. organizer

five prof. metal crafter, prof. carpenter

six prof. prof. fisher, prof. fighter

seven prof. hunter, prof. fighter

pair of hunting dogs, four war dogs, pair of cats

many turkeys

many sheep

single food items (for barrels)

milk (one from each animal for buckets)

sand (for bags)

seven fire-safe rocks for early workshops

plus normal stuff

phase 1 (initial setup)

dig 2x2 stair down 3 levels, check for aquifer

chop initial trees

make plant gathering zone, set gather labor

make fishing zone, set fishing labor

make surface pasture zone

make surface refuse and corpse stockpile

set mining labor, restrict to mining only to start (or forever)

set hunter and hunting dogs, war dogs for fisher and trader

dig temp stockpile and workshop spaces

make everything (-wood -stone) stockpile, disassemble wagon

make food stock on top of wagon remains, give to everything stock

phase 2 (get stuff underground)

dig dormitory

dig 2x2 stair down to cave and re-seal, drain aquifer as needed

dig underground pasture, build 2 farmer shops

dig underground farm

make temp tavern

build wooden wall w/ roof and gate around 2x2 stair, space for 4 traps

phase 3 (making essentials)

dig office for manager/bookkeeper (same person)

build temp workshops (2x stonecrafter, 2x crafts, 1x food shops, 2x carpenter, 1x mechanic, 2x smelter, 1x forge, 1x kiln, 2x glass, 1x wood burner, 1x jewler, 1x loom, 1x clothier)

make one chair, one door, make office

assign manager, bookkeeper, broker

check possible instruments, make note of metal/ceramic/glass simple instruments

build surface trade depot (move later)

phase 4 (initial workorders)

workorders for meals, booze, cheese

workorder for shell crafts

workorders for charcoal, coke from coal and lignite, smelt magnetite, iron bolts, sand collection, green glass goblets (or whatever), porcelain statues (or whatever)

workorders for barrels, bins, beds, cages, buckets

workorders for mechanisms, doors, chairs, tables, chests, blocks

workorders for spinning, weaving yarn cloth, yarn bags, yarn crafts

workorder for cutting gems

workorders for milking, shearing at pasture

make 10 wood wheelbarrows

make 10 wood stepladders

make 20 wood grates

make 12 wood nest boxes

make 20 wood beehives

make 10 wood bookcases

make 3 anvils

disable auto weave and auto webs

set sand collection zone

make dormitory

phase 5 (early wealth)

link surface entrance bridge to lever, make cage traps

find some kaolinite to mine

find some magnetite to mine, leading to some platinum

workorders for smelting platinum, making instruments (or minecarts)

plan and dig fort spiral path

plan rest of waterfalls

find some lignite or coal

find some flux

mine gems as you find them

one vein's worth of platinum turned into simple instruments before the first dwarven caravan yes yes

phase 6 (planning)

plan stock and shop floors

plan tavern, food shops and stocks

plan bedrooms, big temple, library, tombs, leave room for guilds and small temples

plan militia floor

phase 7 (industry)

start courtyard walls with rock blocks after first dwarven caravan

make dining hall/tavern, food stocks and food shops, nest boxes, screw presses

remove temp food shops, food from temp stocks

dig lever room, link levers

make caged animal stock next to food/butcher, animal training zone

dig enough bedrooms for current pop plus a bit

dig shop and stock floors

make permanent shops, remove temps

make finished goods (-tools) stock, and a tools stock

build trade depot near finished goods stocks, remove surface depot

re-evaluate initial workorders

set up beehives (4 for splitting, 16 for collecting)

workorders for press honeycomb, make mead, clay jugs if plenty of kaolinite, green glass otherwise, wax crafts

make aboveground farms in courtyard, dedicate farmers, micro seeds forever

dig waterfall canals, place grates, make drain, dig aquifer

workorders for pig iron, steel, steel bolts, steel melee gear

phase 8 (dig rest of fortress)

dig more bedrooms, then more, then more

turn dorm into hospital, put in a couple of chests, set doctor

dig and set up undedicated temple, guilds and temples as requested

dig and set up library

dig and set up tombs if needed

build militia quarters, make 5-person melee squad

phase 9 (get rich)

enter repeating encrust jobs as needed

rebalance labors, re-evaluate workorders

dig more coal

dig more gems

dig more magnetite, flux

dig more platinum

dig more kaolinite

start smoothing/engraving

phase 10 (succeed)

keep digging bedrooms

keep digging ore and fuel

keep chopping trees

keep smoothing, engraving

place statues in rooms to make fancy

say hi to all the bards