Talk:Best practice/Archives/2013

Clarification and references
The previous version of this page said that best practices were based on common sense which isn't quite accurate. Best practice is based on things like self-assessment and benchmarking and in this way it can be incorprated into quality management systems so I clarified this and added some references which were lacking in the previous version. I also added a new section on environmental best practices. regards, SocSci123 —Preceding unsigned comment added by SocSci123 (talk • contribs) 04:47, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Although much improved by SocSci123, the definition presents best practices as generally accepted. In the software arena at least, the term is often abused by being used to sell opinions and biases that otherwise would not be justified. They may be good practices in a given context, but best practices are inapplicable in some situations, and therefore are not generally accepted or always good. If a best practice can be improved, it isn't the best, so the term is a misnomer. --Doug.hoffman (talk) 00:36, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
 * You are correct, but you might not fully understand how articles are supposed to be written. Per WP:V, each assertion must be verifiable, and your recent edit really should be reverted until a reference is provided indicating a reliable source which makes that point. Johnuniq (talk) 03:52, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Format of comments
Hey Mfstutz,

Please try to format your comments better. You made the existing comments unreadable without adding anything to it. And what you added was wrong, and (unsurprisingly) it was unsubstantiated (had no references or arguments to support it).



LMackinnon 13:29, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

I think it needs to stay separate
The term "Best Practice" gets an awful lot of use in its own right. I found this standalone wiki helpful so I think it should remain, with a link to the other if needed.

MERGE
Mfstutz 14:09, 20 June 2006 (UTC)Yes! MERGE, MERGE, MERGE! (I'd do it, but don't know how yet!) I suggest just adding a reference to best practices ( and vice versa ) and not merging the two.

Misleading article?
>>COMMENT: The article claims that there is one and only one best practice, 'the right way'. Nonsense. Best practices are a journey, not an endpoint. They are about continual improvement and learning.<<

Mfstutz 13:13, 20 June 2006 (UTC)The above COMMENT: is no longer true. It appears the article is factually reporting (at least the first section) what "Buest Practices" represent. Although the comment that "Best Practices" are a journey, is accurate, the definition/explanation of "Best Practices" appears to accurately represent what the term means in today's business environment.

>>COMMENT: Also, it suggests best practices are out of favour. Not so. Visit the American Performance and Quality Center website, for example - it's all Best Practices. LMackinnon 11:39, 18 May 2006 (UTC)<< Mfstutz 13:13, 20 June 2006 (UTC)The above COMMENT: is no longer true. "Out of Favor" is no longer indicated.


 * I agree the article is problematic. It seems to present one perspective on "best practice".  I understand the term to mean the idea of finding better ways to do things, not necessarily the one best way, though apparently that's a different interpretation that other people have.  I've added the accuracy tag to highlight this problem. -- Beland 00:08, 31 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree with your interpretation of the term 'best practices'. :) LMackinnon 06:08, 18 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Also see the APQC website - http://www.apqc.org/portal/apqc/site/generic?path=/site/benchmarking/overview.jhtml

Three themes resonate through successful benchmarking and best-practice transfer efforts: 1. Transfer is a people-to-people process; meaningful relationships precede sharing and transfer. 2. Learning and transfer is an interactive, ongoing, and dynamic process that cannot rest on a static body of knowledge. Employees are inventing, improvising, and learning something new every day. 3. Benchmarking stems from a personal and organizational willingness to learn. A vibrant sense of curiosity and a deep respect and desire for learning are the keys to success.

No such thing?
Note that some people think there's no such thing as a best practice--they say that all practices are only useful in certain context. See "The Seven Basic Principles of the Context-Driven School".

I think Bruce Hoag has written an excellent article. Mr. Hoag's article simply states, "Best practice is a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a project can be rolled out and completed with fewer problems and unforseen complications." The keyword here is "IDEA" and at no point does he claim his idea to be the only true practice. We shouldn't burn this man for his opinion. jmartin

Mfstutz 14:12, 20 June 2006 (UTC)I think by discussing it. . . we've determined that such a concept exists! No such thing? No. (Double Negative?) There IS such a thing & it should be defined here! Besides! I think it's needed to properly understand the nuances of ERP systems existance!

Chris Loosley 08:40, 23 August 2006 (UTC) Concepts do not have to have a precisely defined meaning to be useful. And if you drop best practice just because some people claim there is no such thing then wouldn't we also have to drop the entry for God? In their view of the world, people are free to believe that best practices exist, and to describe the characteristics of the best practices they believe in, or to reject the concept altogether. Others may choose to agree with, challenge, or ignore that subjective view.

buzzword
Does nobody realize that this word is now meaningless because it has become a buzzword that is used in almost any context? Jawed 01:45, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * I'm sure best practice is used as a buzzword sometimes&mdash;maybe even often; I'm not in business so I don't know. However, I participate in discussions with software developers and such people, and they do indeed know what the term means and use it correctly.  It would probably be a good idea to point out the potential buzzwordness on the article page, though. --bdesham 01:49, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Mfstutz 14:15, 20 June 2006 (UTC) Adding buzzword reference: DONE. (And NO . . . it is NOT meaningless!!!)

This page does not need this Buzzword reference - granted the word itself has become a buzzword, but it is used in correct context, and the article explicitly outlines where and when the term has or should be used. The article itself does not contain other confusing buzzwords, and thus the tag should be removed, and I will thus remove it.Kat Malone (talk) 20:32, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

External Links - WikiProcess
the link below went to a pornographic site.. Caution!!!!! Scottboer (talk) 13:39, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

While the Wiki ("WikiProcess") linked here may someday grow into a useful resource on Best Practices, I don't see how it's a useful resource for much of anything at the moment. It defines seven "processes", including "Chisel Use", "Dating with Women", and "Taking a Dump". I don't think it meets Wikipedia's usually-high standards as far as related links go. --CuttyToo 02:18, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Agree Mark G 08:22, 26 April 2006 (UTC) Mfstutz 14:17, 20 June 2006 (UTC) Agree. Someone already took the reference out. Keep this portion of this comment to see if it can be re-referenced some day!

Hello, I'm starting a wiki dedicated to professional best practice ("WikiPractice"). It presently contains only a few article, mainly on IT Infrastructure. Do you think I could add a link to this web site into this article ? --Gcorbaz 07:56, 25 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Sorry but Wikipedia is not a mere directory of links, nor should it be used for advertising or promotion. (Requestion 19:26, 25 May 2007 (UTC))

merge from Good Operating Practice
Good Operating Practice doesn't really have enough to stand on its own and I think it could have a small section here instead. Amalas  =^_^=  21:32, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Agreed. HistoryBA 01:46, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Mfstutz 14:15, 20 June 2006 (UTC)Agreed

When did it become a buzzword?
Seems to me it was sometime in the 80s or later. Who coined this term and/or who popularized it? Dave Yost 02:27, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Compliance terminology - impact on Best Practice
From a compliance perspective, good practise aims at law/regulation and industry standard - best preactise is all of thiose things plus community expectations, social benefits and the like. Therefor there are three level - 1. law, 2. law and standards, and 3. law and standards and the community dimension etc.

The good v best issues should remain seperate I think.

Steve —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.140.160.19 (talk) 01:24, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

kaizen
Removed this section pending thorough citations. Moreover, it is not appropriate to assert that some word has been "imported" into the English lexicon unless you can back it up with a secondary source noting where it has been attested and how frequently. 24.95.50.34 01:25, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Worst Practices
This article appears to have acquired a sister: Worst Practices. Does anyone here know whether it's a valid management idea, deserving of a separate article? --Sturm 09:31, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
 * There is an article on a similar topic called Anti-pattern. --Teratornis (talk) 02:23, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

IP expresses concern over section
The IP editor who blanked a section of the article has left me a comment as to why they think the section should go. I'm moving their comment here in order that their reasoning can be considered. Sturm 22:40, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Best Practices
The section on evolution of best practices was removed because it is beyond silly. To say that "Transfer is a people-to-people process; meaningful relationships precede sharing and transfer." is patently absurd. Of course best practices can be transferred in books, manuals and other media (i.e., computers and web sites). Whoever wrote this has essentially rendered the written word obsolete.

Furthermore, the statement that "Best practices do not have one template or form for everyone to follow," is just as silly (mission critical operations frequently use best practices in the form of checklists).

I work with best practices everyday, and leaving nonsense up on this site simply becomes one more reason not to recommend Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.106.99 (talk) 22:13, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

More...

I forgot to mention this little tidbit (which is also part of the section): “Learning and transfer is an interactive, ongoing, and dynamic process that cannot rest on a static body of knowledge” a statement that renders all schools, classes and knowledge bases obsolete.

Then there is this: “Benchmarking stems from a personal and organizational willingness to learn” which renders all standards for certificates and licenses obsolete, unless of course there is “willingness to learn.”

Finally, APQC is a business organization that charges top dollars for white papers in their knowledge base (I guess people can learn from the written word after all if they just pay APCQ enough money).

The section needs to go. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.106.99 (talk) 22:14, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Best Practices - Meaningless
Like a religion, some firm believers will defend it. The term itself is a tacit acceptance that one size fits all.

Its marketing hype, that helps flush out easy marks.( Ignorant consumers of consulting services. )

Its useful to convey things like Microsoft's recommended practice, or in the absence of real technical proficiency, a generic solution that will only probably work pretty well.

Best practice is a term that makes as much sense as the 'best motorized vehicle.' or 'Best off the rack suit.' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.168.57.205 (talk) 17:06, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It may be meaningless, but for better or worse, it has become a widely-used term in some fields of practice, such as environmental management. In the field of water pollution control, "best management practices" has been used for decades to describe both operational procedures to reduce pollution as well as structural, engineered treatment systems.  The term is included in the U.S. Clean Water Act (although not defined there) and is used in many engineering texts, manuals and government documents.  People often use it as a search term, so it is helpful to acknowledge that and have a "BMP" page that points users to more specific articles. Moreau1 (talk) 17:01, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Best practices are meaningless in the same way it is meaningless for a pilot to go through preflight procedures before takeoff, or for nuclear power plant operators to use standard operating procedures in dealing with their equipment. After all, one size doesn’t fit all.

Of course, it may be useful to know the difference between describing a product ('best motorized vehicle.' or 'Best off the rack suit.') and the process of creating that product before throwing words like “meaningless” around. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.106.99 (talk) 16:53, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

(Analogy - you missed the point. 'makes as much sense as' ...)

'Best practice' is popular in IT and its meaningless there as well. (What is the best practice for setting up a secure network ?) (You can't answer because its a meaningless question.)

Whats the 'best practice' for cooking lasagna ? ( Also meaningless ) Best practice for courting a woman ? heh ; )

The 'best' practice for any company depends on the company's goals and particular situation, and their definition of 'best'. ( Lowest cost, Hi quality,complexity of the process, Time to implement...)

Within a standardized industry (aviation, Nuclear power) authorities may have already agreed on, recommended or even mandated a 'standard practice' or a SOP. Not to be confused with 'best practice.'

The so called 'best practices' for pollution control in an industrialized nation in a temperate zone will not fit a tropical rural and undeveloped nation very well. Use this term for its razzle dazzle BS value only. Believe it at your own peril.

And did anyone notice the article does not define best practice ? "Best practice asserts ..." Is it something that can make an assertion ? No, its a term that can't be sensibly defined.

24.168.57.205 (talk) 21:38, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Did you even read the first paragraph? It offers the following definition: “Best practices can also be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have pr oven themselves over time for large numbers of people.” That’s a pretty specific standard that prevents a lot of people from having to reinvent the wheel at every turn… —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.106.99 (talk) 15:23, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Thats not a sensible definition either.

Just because you can define a term doesn't mean its meaningful or useful.

It falsely assumes that there is a 'best practice' for a task prior to the user deciding precisely what the problems and goals are, and their definition and measure of success is the same as the 'large number of people'.

Management theory in general is a scam to suck money out of shareholders and give it to consultants. "Best practices" is no more or less meaningless than any other management theory term. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.231.6.67 (talk) 16:17, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Newly added introduction deleted
I've rolled back the article (thus deleting the second introduction) as it was a) blatantly negative and dismissive in its treatment of the subject, b) disrupted the flow of the article, and c) was grammatically incorrect. The "buzzword" issue is mentioned elsewhere in the article in any case. Hellfire81 (talk) 06:53, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

The article appears as an advert and has clearly been written by a consultancy (probably big 4) Here is my view based on experiences and some common sense.

So I am sure you have had the best practice conversation? No? Well it is quite common in the corporate habitat to ask someone who has never worked in your industry, how to do the job. Often the person being asked has no real experience but they do come from a large consultancy and they do claim knowledge of best practice. So what is best practice? This is the way the consultancy gets past the questions about competence and experience, e.g. How can you claim enough competence to tell us how to do our job, when you only left Uni 3 years ago and have never worked in any industry before? By using the term ‘best practice’ it ensures all questions are stopped. The consultant can claim that the consultancy has done loads of xxxx and this is the best practice we have observed. The client can relax in the knowledge that they are getting the latest tools. Only they aren’t. How do you measure ‘best practice’? How do I know that my competitor (the one that doesn’t use this consultancy) hasn’t got a better way? Or perhaps more alarmingly, how do you know they will not use your implementation to sell a better one to your competitor? You don’t. What you will get is the method tried at previous similar jobs. The measure of success or failure for the past implementation is how much money the consultancy made, not if the client was happy. So best practice could turn out to be the way which generates the most revenue for the consultancy. How would you know? Experience has shown that large Mc Donald’s type consultancies implement stuff which is good for them. It makes sense. They have thousands of users of their methodology in numerous locations. That is why they push standardisation. It does work out much cheaper for them to work this way but the customer suffers. Maybe that is why we see so much business where the business is the important thing and not the customers. Personally I prefer small consultancies. These guys have real experts or they would not survive in the business. With a small consultancy there is nowhere to hide. You deliver or you fail. You fail and the next job gets harder to get. The concept of ‘best practice’ does not make any sense. ‘Best’ is an entirely subjective term. Whatever practice is deemed ‘best’ is typically deemed so by an external consultant. No internal people will ever say that what they have is the ‘best’. They’re too busy running things to ‘benchmark’ other organisations that do vaguely similar things to them (but have different cultures, customers and business models). It’s just good for them, right now with whatever is going on within their business. However, they will also be working on something – better. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Siggsigg (talk • contribs) 18:51, 19 June 2012 (UTC)