What are Best Practices?

"It's the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority" - Benjamin Franklin

or to be more succinct

"Think for your self and question authority." - Timothy Leary

What is a 'Best Practice'? A best practice is not a standard, nor is it a policy. It's a specific activity, performed performed under specific circumstances which will presumably result in a favorable outcome. A best practice is well documented, it's well researched and it's is well documented. Best practice documentation is not only on the execution of the practice itself, but also on the researched alternatives with rational as to why these practices were not considered the 'best'.

A best practice is not a notion, theory, or whim. It is not a half-baked idea of something that SHOULD be. A best practice is definitely NOT a shield to prevent others from exploring other means of accomplishing the same task.

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The previous two paragraphs are very directive in nature; this was intentional. These paragraphs also represent two opposing stances on how the term 'best practice' is used in IT organizations. Perhaps it's the repressed academic in me that screams for citations when someone says 'according to best practice, we should do it like this.' This is one of my professional "Hot Button" issues.

While having a strict set of guidelines and researched documentation for every practice for every jr DBA and SysAdmin is likely out of the question, it's important that they understand the learn the best practice. I would argue that it's more important for Senior level administrators and architects to be able to clearly outline the best practice, but also provide a reasonable rational for why this is the preferred practice. And really, if the reasons for a particular best practice can't be clearly articulated, then the practice has no foundation on which to stand.

Don't hide behind your best practices. Publish them! Vet them. Review them with peers. Let your best practices be your armor: available for all to see. Let others try to poke holes in processes. Maybe they are the best practice, but if they aren't you've learned something and improved as an IT professional.