[Sigia-l] what are best practices (was OT: Library Thing)

[Eric Reiss]

Ziya wrote:
"There are no practices better than all other possible ones."

And I add...

Personally, I'm rather partial to the notion that traffic stops at a
red light. This is a good (and literal) "rule of the road".

Once upon a time, your mom told you the iron was hot. You may have
burned yourself anyway, but the damage probably wasn't serious. If
she told you not to run out in front of traffic and you did, the
effects might have been quite different. These are both heuristics -
and not all outcomes are equally good.

Then there are rules of thumb - "Jakob Nielsen is really smart, but
he's not God. Listen to what he says, but make your own decisions." 

There's nothing wrong with rules of the road, rules of thumb, or
heuristics - and most of us call these kinds of things "best
practices."

I think this thread got off track because - judging by Ziya's
examples - there is confusion between "best practice" and
"innovation". These are the oil and water of our industry. If you do
what Jakob says, you will never innovate. If your innovation doesn't
solve a problem, it will invariable cause one.

Best,
Eric

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eric reiss
principal
e-reiss aps
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Meet Jakob Nielsen, Rolf Molich, and Eric Reiss
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http://dansk-it.dk/sw3696.asp

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