Against Best Practices

The author seems to be arguing for nuance: that these “laws,” require context and shouldn’t be applied blindly. I agree.

However they shouldn’t be rejected out of hand either and people recommending them aren’t idiots.

Update: one problem with “best practices,” that I think the article might have unwittingly implied is that most software developers aren’t aware of SWEBOK and are repeating maxims and aphorisms they heard from others. Software development is often powered by folklore and hand waving.

Most best practices that I have been told about were low local maxima at best, and very harmful at worst.

If someone quotes a best practice to you and can't cite a convincing "why", you should immediately reject it.

It might still be a good idea, but you shouldn't seriously consider it until you hear an actually convincing reason (not a "just so" explanation that skips several steps).

If everyone follows that then every decision will be bikeshedded to death. I think part of the point of the concept of "best practices" is that some ideas should be at least somewhat entrenched, followed by default, and not overturned without good reason.

Ideally your records of best practices would include a rationale and scope for when they should be reexamined. But trying to reason everything out from first principles doesn't work great either.