Rethinking Best Practices

Best practices feel like a shortcut, a way to avoid the cognitive load of deep analysis. The article argues that this shortcut is dangerous when it becomes a mantra that discourages questioning. When a label replaces investigation, teams miss nuances that only expertise can surface.

The piece walks through concrete examples: immutable infrastructure was hailed as a best practice, yet it fails for stateful services. Simple advice like "write self-documenting code" helps novices, but seasoned engineers often bypass it when trade-offs demand speed. The debate over Friday deployments illustrates how two opposing "best practices" can both claim authority, leaving leaders stuck choosing between conflicting guidance.

The core message is that best practices should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling. They provide a starting point, but leaders must layer context, experience, and situational judgment on top. By recognizing best practices as provisional, teams can avoid the rigidity that turns guidelines into constraints, keeping decision-making flexible and resilient.

Ultimately, the article suggests swapping the term for more precise language-standard operating procedures or recommended practices-so the advice remains useful without implying universal optimality. This shift helps technical leaders maintain agility while still benefiting from shared knowledge.