The What of Best Practice
From the Wikipedia article on best practice:
A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to any alternatives because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing things, e.g., a standard way of complying with legal or ethical requirements.
A few software development best practices might include:
- ship small changes often
- use consistent style (e.g., linting)
- test all the things
- automate process guardrails
There are surely many, many more.
Getting alignment on and implementing best practice should not be an end in itself. It’s the start of a conversation, not the end.
Better than best practice builds on best practice by adapting those practices to specific conditions unique to the context. Get to best practice first, then improve.