You are on page 1of 23

Frequently Asked Questions - Quality Assessment

http://www.theiia.org/index.cfm?doc_id=5249
Best practices in a generic manner implies that what is good for one organization is good for
another. Should there be a distinction based on what works in a particular environment?
The term best practices, means best practices in a given set of circumstances. However,
many best practices can be generic that is, generally applicable to most internal audit
environments. Obviously, one must explore what others are doing to determine if something
might work better in ones own circumstance.

Best Practice
http://www.remarc.co.uk/bestpractice/
One simple definition of "best practice" is: An industry accepted way of doing something, that
works.
Aidan Lawes, CEO itSMF
"Best practice" is the best identified approach to a situation based upon observation from
effective organisations in similar business circumstances.
A "best practice" approach means seeking out ideas and experiences from those who have
undertaken similar activities in the past, determining which of these practices are relevant to
your situation, testing them out to see if they work, before incorporating the proven practices
in your own documented processes.
"Best practice" is all about not "re-inventing the wheel", but learning from others and
implementing what has been shown to work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best%5Fpractice

Best practice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

The term best practice generally refers to the best possible way of doing something; it is commonly used in
the fields of business management, software engineering, and medicine, and increasingly in government.

Contents
[hide]
1 Business management
2 Software engineering
3 Medicine
4 Government
5 See also

6 External links
[edit]
Business management
In business management, a best practice is a generally accepted best way of doing a thing. A best practice
is formulated after the study of specific business or organizational case studies to determine the most broadly
effective and efficient means of organizing a system or performing a function. Best practices are disseminated
through academic studies, popular business management books and through "comparison of notes" between
corporations.

This term was popularized in professional and business management books starting in the late 1980s, most
famously In Search Of Excellence, written by business management consultant Tom Peters. As of 2006, it
remains a catchphrase among managers.

The idea behind best practices is to create a specification for what the best methodology is for any given
situation. Then, one can compare job performance to these best practices and determine if either the job
performance was lacking in quality somehow, or if the specification for best practices needs updating to include
the job performance being graded.

The management movement of Best practices might imply that many if not most situations are repeatable and
that if we can sufficiently distill a set of experiences, we can predict all or most of the possible scenarios and
the way to best handle them.

Best practice may be a euphemism used in corporate management theory to avoid the negative image involved
in "copying a competitor's business model". Businesses "adopt" best practices and by describing a particular
innovation as a best practice, they avoid the need to attribute the innovation to a competitor. On the other
hand, the advent of best practice may be due to an intellectual movement similar to open source to make
business models non-proprietary and thus accelerate competition and innovation.

There is some momentum behind good practice as a preferred term, since it does not imply that no further
innovation or revision is required.

[edit]

Software engineering
In software engineering the term is used similarly to business management, meaning a set of guidelines or
recommendations for doing something. An example include XML Best Practices, which is a set of guidelines for
how to best set up and use XML documents.

Best practices for programming might include using a consistent coding style and documenting code as soon as
it is written. Some processes have been developed to enforce these practices; extreme programming is one
example.

In computer security, best practices can be described as "extreme paranoia"; for the maximum amount of
security possible, users should use keys that are as large as possible and ensure that the physical location of
their computer is completely secure, e.g. from TEMPEST attacks (see computer insecurity). It should be noted
that such extreme practices are not required for excellent security, and that almost no one actually implements
the theoretical best practices.

[edit]

Medicine
In medicine, best practice refers to a specific treatment for a disease that has been judged optimal after
weighing the available outcome evidence. The term began to appear in medical, nursing, and hospital
administration literature in the early 1990s, likely borrowed from business management as described above. In
its early usage, it was often applied to administrative aspects of hospital and medical practice. However, by the
late 1990s, "best practice" became particularly associated with the terminology of evidence-based medicine and
is primarily used in that context currently. Several medical journals have adopted it as part of the titles.

[edit]
Government
In government there is special interest in best practice exchange, as unlike commercial enterprises there is no
competitive incentive to keep best practices secret.

The most visible and active exchange efforts focus mostly on public management: e-democracy, e-government
and related source code. Some, notably Canada's FCM InfraGuide, focus on very detailed procedures and
operational processes required to manage sustainable municipal infrastructure.

[edit]

See also
Benchmarking
Strategic management
Good Agricultural Practices
Good Manufacturing Practice
Good Laboratory Practice

[edit]

External links
WikiProcess - A repository of Best Practices of all areas. Lists of step by step
guides of proven processes and methods to achieve a goal.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice"

Category: Management

http://whatis.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid39_gci498678,00.html
best practice

A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to
reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment
to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success. The term is used
frequently in the fields of health care, government administration, the education system, project
management, hardware and software product development, and elsewhere.

In software development, a best practice is a well-defined method that contributes to a successful step in
product development. Throughout the software industry, several best practices are widely followed. Some of
the more commonly used are: an iterative development process, requirement management, quality control,
and change control.

An iterative (meaning repetitive) development process, which progresses in incremental stages, helps to
maintain a focus on manageable tasks and ensures that earlier stages are successful before the later stages
are attempted. Requirement management addresses the problem of creeping requirements, which is a
situation in which the client requests additional changes to the product that are beyond the scope of what was
originally planned. To guard against this common phenomenon, requirement management employs strategies
such as documentation of requirements, sign-offs, and methodologies such as the use case. Quality control is
a strategy that defines objective measures for assessing quality throughout the development process in terms
of the product's functionality, reliability, and performance. Change control is a strategy that seeks to closely
monitor changes throughout the iterative process to ensure that records are intact for changes that have been
made and that unacceptable changes are not undertaken.

A best practice tends to spread throughout a field or industry after a success has been demonstrated. However,
it is often noted that demonstrated best practices can be slow to spread, even within an organization.
According to the American Productivity & Quality Center, the three main barriers to adoption of a best practice
are a lack of knowledge about current best practices, a lack of motivation to make changes involved in their
adoption, and a lack of knowledge and skills required to do so.

http://searchvb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci498678,00.html

best practice

A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to
reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment
to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success. The term is used
frequently in the fields of health care, government administration, the education system, project
management, hardware and software product development, and elsewhere.

In software development, a best practice is a well-defined method that contributes to a successful step in
product development. Throughout the software industry, several best practices are widely followed. Some of
the more commonly used are: an iterative development process, requirement management, quality control,
and change control.

An iterative (meaning repetitive) development process, which progresses in incremental stages, helps to
maintain a focus on manageable tasks and ensures that earlier stages are successful before the later stages
are attempted. Requirement management addresses the problem of creeping requirements, which is a
situation in which the client requests additional changes to the product that are beyond the scope of what was
originally planned. To guard against this common phenomenon, requirement management employs strategies
such as documentation of requirements, sign-offs, and methodologies such as the use case. Quality control is
a strategy that defines objective measures for assessing quality throughout the development process in terms
of the product's functionality, reliability, and performance. Change control is a strategy that seeks to closely
monitor changes throughout the iterative process to ensure that records are intact for changes that have been
made and that unacceptable changes are not undertaken.

A best practice tends to spread throughout a field or industry after a success has been demonstrated. However,
it is often noted that demonstrated best practices can be slow to spread, even within an organization.
According to the American Productivity & Quality Center, the three main barriers to adoption of a best practice
are a lack of knowledge about current best practices, a lack of motivation to make changes involved in their
adoption, and a lack of knowledge and skills required to do so.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_701704593/best_practice.html
best practice

noun
Definitions:

best way to do something: the most effective or efficient method of achieving


an objective or completing a task

http://www.ceed-uofn.org/best_practice.htm

Best Practice for Frontier Businesses


(expanded in the book Transform the World by Swarr/Nordstrom.)

Best practices for companies involved in frontier businesses (tentmaking) are being developed by
successful entrepreneurs and respected leaders. The list of Best Practice included here is far from
complete and will be augmented.

Definition of Best Practice:


Analyzing your company, and similar companies and industries, to conclude what are the best
processes that make the companies successful in their overall goals.

Best practices for frontier businesses should not be taken separately from best practices of business
worldwide. For instance, here is a best practice for business example: In accounting, a best practice is
that the books are closed out within twenty-four hours of the month's end and two days after the end of
the quarter. These practices are assumed and should be followed, but will not be stated here...

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/27/messages/15.html

Re: Best practice


Posted by R. Berg on December 17, 2003

In Reply to: Here's an offering that means as much as the original phrases posted by Lap of the
Goddess on December 16, 2003

: : : hi, it's me, the san francisco chronicle book critic again. i'm ginning up a little something on
political/management rhetoric, and i'd love to see possible derivations of either "best practices,"
employed to mean "the most efficient techniques used by the competition," or "moving forward,"
employed to mean, well, as little as possible, as in "we're coming together in proactive way to
start moving forward on..."
: : Oh man do I hate that corporate crapola jingoism stuff like "in a proactive way" and "moving
forward" and the best/worst one: "on a go forward basis".
: : Back into my hole I go.

:
: Couldn't agree more Bruce.
: But as a contractor in the corporate world, it's something to which I'm constantly exposed.
Personally I don't speak the language, but I have to be able to interprete if my invoices are to be
paid each week. Particularly this 'best practice' stuff, cos one of my hats is as a QA auditor (and
yes 'QA' gets bandied about too).

: I must say I hadn't considered the term 'best practice' in the competitive context you're
suggesting, however, I like it and I'm going to nick it.

: So here are my offerings...

: A definition I like is from ODLIS...


: Best Practice: In the application of theory to real-life situations, any procedure which, when
properly applied, consistently yields superior results, and is therefore used as a reference point in
evaluating the effectiveness of alternative methods of accomplishing the same task.

: On the competitive note I offer this (it aint much, but it's the best I can do as I walk out the
door)...

: "Improve your company's performance by researching and analyzing the winning practices (best
practices) of other relevant organisations, and implementing, utilising and improving those
practices in order to gain competitive advantage."

: As for 'moving forward'. Well you're right, it's a stupid, meaningless phrase. But here's an even
more meaningless phrase with regard to that...

: "Implement and maintain an informed, focused and well-connected approach on your journey
toward delivering superior market performance."

: Oh dear, sometimes I can write such drivel!!! But it's right up there with 'best practice' and
'moving forward'... he he.

Ms. Berg blinks dully and wonders whether that definition of "best practice" adds anything to
what she had inferred from the plain meaning of the words.

We ought to get bob over here to help out.


Re: Best practice
Posted by ESC on December 17, 2003

In Reply to: Re: Best practice posted by R. Berg on December 17, 2003

: : : : hi, it's me, the san francisco chronicle book critic again. i'm ginning up a little something on
political/management rhetoric, and i'd love to see possible derivations of either "best practices,"
employed to mean "the most efficient techniques used by the competition," or "moving forward,"
employed to mean, well, as little as possible, as in "we're coming together in proactive way to
start moving forward on..."

: : : Oh man do I hate that corporate crapola jingoism stuff like "in a proactive way" and "moving
forward" and the best/worst one: "on a go forward basis".
: : : Back into my hole I go.

: :
: : Couldn't agree more Bruce.
: : But as a contractor in the corporate world, it's something to which I'm constantly exposed.
Personally I don't speak the language, but I have to be able to interprete if my invoices are to be
paid each week. Particularly this 'best practice' stuff, cos one of my hats is as a QA auditor (and
yes 'QA' gets bandied about too).

: : I must say I hadn't considered the term 'best practice' in the competitive context you're
suggesting, however, I like it and I'm going to nick it.

: : So here are my offerings...

: : A definition I like is from ODLIS...


: : Best Practice: In the application of theory to real-life situations, any procedure which, when
properly applied, consistently yields superior results, and is therefore used as a reference point in
evaluating the effectiveness of alternative methods of accomplishing the same task.

: : On the competitive note I offer this (it aint much, but it's the best I can do as I walk out the
door)...

: : "Improve your company's performance by researching and analyzing the winning practices
(best practices) of other relevant organisations, and implementing, utilising and improving those
practices in order to gain competitive advantage."

: : As for 'moving forward'. Well you're right, it's a stupid, meaningless phrase. But here's an
even more meaningless phrase with regard to that...
: : "Implement and maintain an informed, focused and well-connected approach on your journey
toward delivering superior market performance."

: : Oh dear, sometimes I can write such drivel!!! But it's right up there with 'best practice' and
'moving forward'... he he.

: Ms. Berg blinks dully and wonders whether that definition of "best practice" adds anything to
what she had inferred from the plain meaning of the words.

: We ought to get bob over here to help out.

All of my law dictionaries are at work. But "best practices" does have a "real" meaning. It means
the standards of a particular discipline. I first heard it used by an auditor.

http://creativeideas.org.uk/glossary.htm

Best Practice
Superior performance within a function independent of industry, leadership,
management, or operational methods or approaches that lead to exceptional
performance; best practice is a relative term and usually indicates innovative or
interesting business practices which have been identified as contributing to improved
performance at leading companies.

ostali pojmovi
Benchmark
A measured 'best in class' achievement. The performance level which is
recognised as the standard of excellence for a specific business process.
Benchmarking
A systematic and continuous measurement process; a process of continuously
comparing and measuring an organization's business processes against
business leaders anywhere in the world to gain information which will help the
organization take action to improve its performance.
Benchmarking gap
The difference in performance between the benchmark for a particular activity
and other companies in the comparison; the measured leadership advantage
of the benchmark organization over other organizations.
Best Practice
Superior performance within a function independent of industry, leadership,
management, or operational methods or approaches that lead to exceptional
performance; best practice is a relative term and usually indicates innovative
or interesting business practices which have been identified as contributing to
improved performance at leading companies.
Business Process
A series of interrelated activities which convert inputs into results (outputs).
Processes consume resources and have a limited capacity and capability.
Benchmarking requires a standard set of process classifications which are
understood by both parties in a benchmarking project. The Best Practice Club
has defined these in a Business Process Classification Scheme.
Capability mapping
The analysis of the business infrastructure of an organization to determine
unique abilities and potential.
Competitive Benchmarking
A measure of organizational performance compared against competing
organizations.
Core Competencies
Describe strategic business capabilities that provide a company with a
marketplace advantage.
Critical Success Factors (CSF)
Quantitative measures for effectiveness, economy, and efficiency; those few
areas where satisfactory performance is essential in order for a business to
succeed; characteristics, conditions, or variables that have a direct influence
on a customer's satisfaction with a specific business process; the set of things
that must be done right if a vision is to be achieved.
Customer Advocate
The role played by a member of some teams where that individual pleads the
case of the customer and calls the attention of the team to issues which would
concern the customer.
Customer Analysis
The evaluation of customer's conditions and trends relative to a particular
product or service of a business - tools include customer focus groups, field
trial testing, customer satisfaction measurement, customer feedback systems,
and the use of various types of questionnaires and survey instruments.
Enabler
Those processes, practices, or methods that facilitate the implementation of a
best practice and help to meet a critical success factor; enablers help to
explain the reasons behind the performance indicated by a benchmark.
Entitlement
The best that can be achieved in process performance using current
resources to eliminate waste and improve cycle time; obvious improvements
identified during the process of benchmarking and which may be
accomplished as short- term goals.
Functional Benchmarking
Process benchmarking which compares a particular business function at two
or more companies.
Generic Benchmarking
Process benchmarking which compares a particular business function or
process at two or more companies independent of their industry.
Global Benchmarking
The extension of strategic benchmarking to a global scale.
Internal Benchmarking
Process benchmarking which is performed within an organization by
comparing similar business units or business processes.
Key Business Process
Those processes that influence the customer's perception of your business.
Model:
A description, representation, or analogy which is used to help visualize
something that cannot be directly understood
Networking
A decentralized organization of independent participants who develop a
degree of interdependence and share a coherent set of values and interests.
Performance Benchmarking
Measurement of the performance of one company's product against those of
another company.
Process Benchmarking
The measurement of discrete process performance and functionality against
organizations that are excellent in those processes.
Reengineering
The radical redesign of business processes, organizational structures,
management systems, and values of an organization to achieve
breakthroughs in business performance.
Strategic Benchmarking
A systematic business process for evaluating alternatives, implementing
strategies, and improving performance by understanding and adapting
successful strategies from external partners who participate in an ongoing
strategic alliance.
World Class
Leading performance in a process independent of industry, function, or
location.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci498678,00.html
best practice
A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to
reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment
to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success. The term is used
frequently in the fields of health care, government administration, the education system, project
management, hardware and software product development, and elsewhere.

In software development, a best practice is a well-defined method that contributes to a successful step
in product development. Throughout the software industry, several best practices are widely followed.
Some of the more commonly used are: an iterative development process, requirement management,
quality control, and change control.
An iterative (meaning repetitive) development process, which progresses in incremental stages, helps
to maintain a focus on manageable tasks and ensures that earlier stages are successful before the
later stages are attempted. Requirement management addresses the problem of creeping
requirements, which is a situation in which the client requests additional changes to the product that
are beyond the scope of what was originally planned. To guard against this common phenomenon,
requirement management employs strategies such as documentation of requirements, sign-offs, and
methodologies such as the use case. Quality control is a strategy that defines objective measures for
assessing quality throughout the development process in terms of the product's functionality,
reliability, and performance. Change control is a strategy that seeks to closely monitor changes
throughout the iterative process to ensure that records are intact for changes that have been made
and that unacceptable changes are not undertaken.

A best practice tends to spread throughout a field or industry after a success has been demonstrated.
However, it is often noted that demonstrated best practices can be slow to spread, even within an
organization. According to the American Productivity & Quality Center, the three main barriers to
adoption of a best practice are a lack of knowledge about current best practices, a lack of motivation to
make changes involved in their adoption, and a lack of knowledge and skills required to do so.

http://www.projektmagazin.de/glossar/gl-0401.html

Best Practice
Im Gegensatz zur bestmglichen Lsung ist der "Best Practice" led
realisierte Lsung. Innerhalb eines Benchmarking-Prozesses wird
theoretisch oder technisch besten Mglichkeit gesucht. Vielme
tatschlich auf dem Markt angebotenen Produkte oder D
hinsichtlich einheitlicher Qualittskriterien miteinander verglichen. D
dann "Best Practice" genannt.

Der Nutzen eines Benchmarkings ergibt sich vor allem bei einem
Blick auf die einzelnen Vergleichskriterien. Die jeweiligen Best Pra
einer Kategorie von Kriterien oder fr ein einziges Kriterium di
Messlatte fr die anderen Bechmarking Partner.

Der Best Practice muss nicht unbedingt von einem Wettbewerber s


branchenbergreifende Benchmarkingprozesse, knnen gro
erzeugen.

http://derekstockley.com.au/newsletters-05/042-best-practice-consulting.html

The rise and fall of the


best practice method
The ebb and flow of the best practice method is discussed in this free
article by Derek Stockley. Introduced as a business management
concept that gained prominence in the 1990's, the best practice
approach has lost some of its initial shine. Although still featured,
best practice methods are not highlighted as often as they used to be.
The rise and fall of best practice
Management theory and practice often comes in waves. One of the waves that has now subsided is the best
practice concept.

I recently heard a story about a business process review unit in a government department. The unit had
changed its name. Whilst not intentional, the name change conveyed an interesting message. The unit went
from the 'Best Practice Unit' to the 'Good Practice Unit', prompting some wits to speculate as to what was next -
the 'Bad Practice Unit'?

The desire to remove the 'best practice' label had unintended consequences, although it was probably done for
logical reasons.

Best Practice Definition


I define best practice:

Best practice is a method where organisations identify their key business processes, and actively seek out and
compare them with similar processes in organisations recognised for their exceptional customer service or
outstanding business processes. The purpose of the comparison is to gather information and insight about
better, more efficient and effective methods and approaches, with the view to identifying and implementing the
'best' practice/s.

The comparison can be informal, through the analysis of competitor processes or systems, or done more
formally through a co-operative venture (benchmarking).

Benchmarking is one aspect of 'best practice'. The method is to form a review team and make approaches to
another like minded organisation which may have a similar operation, but operate in a completely different
field. For example, a furniture manufacturer may team with a glassware manufacturer to review their respective
warehouse and distribution systems. The process includes the identification and setting of benchmarks.

Another method may involve an industry group or association forming a task group to review an industry wide
process. The group meets with a view to developing a standard process which incorporates the best practices of
a variety of member organisations. In Australia, local government bodies often develop best practice models
which all local government councils can implement.

Difficulties with best practice model use


The underlying principles of the best practice model are sound. However, some problems have occurred with
implementation.

Organisations have to be careful with the use of ideas gained from another organisation.

There are many factors that determine success. Organisation culture and climate often have a big impact. The
success or failure of company mergers is a good example. Many mergers have failed because management
under-estimated the difference in company cultures - the unwritten rules and rituals that operated outside the
written policies and procedures.

Computer systems can also be stumbling blocks. As a company grows and develops, information technology
systems are developed to cater for the unique features of the companys operations. Bringing in a radical
change may not be possible.

Sometimes, in their enthusiasm for the search for best practice, companies make incorrect assumptions. They
do not see the forest for the trees. Our tendency in Australia to blindly follow overseas trends is an example.
Australian has a unique culture which is different to other cultures. Australians react differently to some
situations. They adapt well to new technology, but they resist and resent being forced. The banks learnt this
lesson the hard way.
Outsourcing (the practice of hiving off non-core activities to outside companies to operate on your behalf on a
contract basis) is an example of best practice method that has to be carefully scrutinised and evaluated.

Outsourcing the payroll function can be economical and beneficial. Outsourcing the complete human resources
function is a completely different matter. It can be done, but it has to be done well. Normally, this is achieved
through integration - the outsourced unit acts and behaves as if it belongs to the company. An analogy would
be the comparison between employees engaged under an industrial award compared with someone employed
under an AWA (Australian Workplace Agreement).

I have seen outsourced units lose their usefulness. Costs may have been reduced, but that is simply because
company staff found an alternative - they did the work themselves. I saw this once with a records management
service - staff created their own systems and ignored the central records area. The duplication would have been
at a far greater overall cost to the organisation.

How to use the best practice method


The best practice methodology is like any useful management tool. It has to be used carefully and wisely, in
conjunction with other management tools.

I am enthusiastic about continuous improvement. However, it cannot be used in isolation. You have to also
make major breakthrough adjustments. A comparison would be the horse and buggy - continuous improvement
makes the buggy better and better. The invention of the motor car is a breakthrough beyond continuous
improvement.

Likewise, the best practice method is useful, but it should not be used in isolation. The transfer of good ideas
and approaches has to be thoroughly tested, including the fit into the organisation culture.

Another important point is innovation. If everyone copies 'the best practice', everyone behaves in the same
way. Sometimes you have to do something that is different and innovative. If you are different, you can
differentiate yourself from the competition.

Personal reflection
Is your organisation using the best practice method?

Are you using a variety of methods to improve your systems?

Are you innovative?

Your comment

If you have a comment you would like to make, or would like to share a similar experience, please send the
comment to one of the email addresses listed below.

http://www.infoforhealth.org/practices.shtml

Best Approaches, Lessons Learned, and Evidence-Based Medicine


A number of reproductive health organizations have attempted to define best practices, lessons learned, and
evidence-based medicine and to develop collections that can be used as models by others working in the same
field. This signpost is designed to help users find useful practices and made decisions about adapting them for
use in their own programs.

What is a best practice?


There is no universally accepted definition of a "best practice". The terms "best practice" and "lessons learned"
are often used interchangeably. Lessons learned are usually best approaches and practices that have not been
evaluated as rigorously as best practices, but that still offer ideas about what works best in a given situation. They
can also be examples of how not to do something. Also, lessons are often "lessons from" a specific program or
project and are not trying to be universal in scope or application.

http://www.portfoliomgt.org/papers/DefineBest.htm
DEFINITION - A "best practice" are those practices that have worked well in similar
or dissimilar situations. They are proven and have produced successful results. The
nature of a best practice is that it be shared among internal groups as well as having
external exposure.

Strategy
A best practices strategy should be developed, articulated, and incorporated into
many of the programs managed by organizations. Opportunities for collaboration
should be used to help establish such program-level strategies.

Identify Practices
Locate and reference proven sources of best practices. Promote "leading edge" and
not "bleeding edge" practices. Customers are an excellent resource in addition to
your internal user groups. Use innovative methods to help identify new and
emerging practices. Suggest holding a competition among offices or internal
groups, participate with an information exchange forum, mentorship, speakers,
soliciting electronic submissions, and online community participation as well as old-
fashioned bulletin boards.

Evaluate Practices
The concept is to establish criteria, up front, to benchmark and determine which
practices are effective, or best, and have the greatest usefulness for customers.
Identify pertinent and consistent criteria, up front. Use criteria such as cost
effectiveness, time savings, proven performance, and ease of implementation.

Benchmark Performance
In order to 'prove' a best practice, you will need a means of measuring the
performance or return on the process. These methods and criteria must be
objective and benchmarking results need to be repeatable, comprehensive but not
overly complicated. The method and results must be understandable to the users.

In each case identify how the measurement will be taken. This will vary and be
dependent upon the individual process, project or group. You should attempt to
have both a quantitative and qualitative method of measuring the practice.

QUANTITATIVE METHODS - Tracking the number of requests for particular effective


practices may be useful. Another method is registering the users of effective
practices and following up to determine if it was useful and their opinion on
whether it should be continued.
QUALITATIVE METHODS - Interviews and surveys of stakeholders and key customers
can help determine the success and effectiveness of individual practices and
programs.

Sharing Best Practices


Find the target audience for the practice and make sure it is delivered in a timely
manner, and in step with their own process maturity. Dissimilar groups can often
share the same process and best practices so don't let functional titles get in the
way of sharing the process.

There are many ways to present the information and you should choose the one
that most closely matches the daily use of the target audience. This may include
electronic or paper, digital presentation media or as a presentation by a speaker.
Presentations can be packaged and made available through intranets or even
published with online community forums.

Keeping them Current


Process and practice are forever changing and it is important to schedule frequent
reviews of practices to determine if they are still effective and whether they should
continue to be recommended to internal groups or to customers.

http://www.imtc3.com/topic/topic.cfm?topID=3

Best Practices
-- Background --
A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved
performance of an organization, usually recognized as BEST by other peer
organizations.

Reprinted with permission from Quality Progress magazine.


2002 American Society for Quality.

-- With C3 Inside --
There are three words in the above definition that are both revealing and limiting:

1. Method
2. Practice
3. Peer

The words method and practice are closely aligned with the process component
(areas 8 and 4) of the 8 Dimensions. Is it possible to have the best method, practice
or process and still go out of business? The best methods for producing typewriters,
mimeographs, slide rules, carbon paper and a host of other products did not save the
leaders of their industries. It also didnt matter that their peer organizations agreed
that they were the best.

A method commonly used to determine best practices is called benchmarking.


Several assumptions generally guide the pursuit of best practices, including the
following:

Someone is best
Best is definable from a producer perspective
Matching (or catching) the best is possible
Being the best with a practice or method will achieve a competitive advantage
With C3 inside the concept of best practice, we put the emphasis on best outcome. If
the outcome wanted is a fast, accurate mathematical answer, the slide rule may not
be the best product. If it is not the best product, then any attempt to develop the best
production process for slide rules is a fools errand.

Best practice with C3 inside requires that we use assumptions contrasting with the
traditional ones shown above. These new assumptions include the following:
Best cannot be fully defined without customer involvement and articulation
The pursuit of another producers methods is a followership, not leadership,
strategy
Whoever is currently best is not sitting still while we try to catch up
Being best in outcomes related to customer success is dependent on
innovative thinking, doing what no one has done before, and is likely to
produce a longer lasting competitive advantage

We would like to hear your comments or questions concerning what you just read.
Please use the "Contact" button at the bottom of this page to share your thoughts.
We appreciate your feedback.

http://www.itsmf.com/bestpractice/sourcebp.asp

Source of Best Practice


Currently, the source of "best practice" definition for IT Service Management can be found in the ITIL
publications from the Office of Government Commerce [OGC (formerly known as CCTA)] and in several
publications from the British Standards Institution (BSI).

The core ITIL publications on Service Support & Delivery were originally published in the late 1980s in 10
separate books. In the late nineties, these core books were updated and concatenated into 2 volumes,
published in 2000/1. Similar updating and amalgamation has happened with others of the earlier books and the
current "core" set is:

Planning to Implement Service Management


Service Support
Service Delivery
The Business Perspective (due November 2004)
Applications Management
ICT Infrastructure Management
Security Management

The material is available as a set of books and on CD. The latter may be purchased for stand alone or
networked use.

BSI published the Code of Practice for IT Service Management in 1998 (PD0005) and subsequently the British
Standard (BS15000) was launched in November 2000. Both publications were based entirely on the refreshed
ITIL guidelines, particularly focusing on Service Support & Delivery.

The publications from both the BSI and OGC are complementary sets and the two organisations work closely
together and with itSMF to ensure harmony and consistency between them.
As a result of feedback from some early adopters, BS 15000 was rewritten and relaunched in 2002. The new
version consists of 2 parts: Part 1 being the Specification for ITSM (the requirements) and Part 2 a Code of
Practice (supporting guidance about the specification). A self-assessment workbook (PD0015) is designed to
assist organisations assess how close they are to the requirements and PD0005 has been republished as ITSM:
A Manager's Guide.

There is also a self-assessment questionnaire on this website that helps organisations understand how capable
& mature their ITIL-based solutions are.

This diagram illustrates how the various publications relate to each other.

The intention is that BS 15000 will ultimately become an ISO standard. A formal certification scheme, owned
and managed by itSMF, enables independent audit against the standard (see www.bs15000certification.com).
The aim of BS15000 is to "provide a common reference standard for any enterprise offering services to internal
or external customers". Such a common language permits easy understanding of suppliers and products. More
information about ITIL can be found on the OGC web-site at (www.itil.co.uk) and about the British standard at
(www.bsi-global.com)

http://www.fei.org/magazine/articles/3-4-2002_BP_overview.cfm

Best PracticesBy Definition


By Ellen M. Heffes

Logging on to www.google.com and keying in "best practices" resulted - in less than 1 second - in
3,210,000 entries. Not exactly an easy subject to wrap one's arms around. Which, ironically, relates to
the concept of best practices itself.

Browsing the first 30 pages clearly proved that best practices data permeates a variety of industries,
services, processes and disciplines - ranging from manufacturing, human resources, communications,
consulting, education, health care, supply chains, information technology, government and customer
service, to psychiatry and programs for substance abuse, to name a few.

Sites like www.hackettbenchmarking.com describe best practice areas and suggest interested parties
benchmark, or compare, their performance to the leaders and use the proven methods as guides for
setting improved performance goals and targets instead of "devoting scarce resources to inventing
new techniques."

At www.bestpractices.com, the Web site for Best Practices, LLC (BP), a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based
consulting firm, best practices are defined as "documented strategies and tactics employed by highly
admired companies. These companies are not best-in-class in every area - such a company does not
exist. But due to the nature of competition and their drive for excellence, the profiled practices have
been implemented and honed to help place their practitioners as the most admired, the most profitable
and the keenest competitors in the business."
Looked at in yet another way, Stanford faculty member turned researcher-consultant-author Jim
Collins applies an analogy of science to best practices by making a clean distinction between the
realm of physics and engineering. He defines best practices as "discovering timeless laws of physics
and then, over time, creating practices that match with those to bring them [the laws] to life."

When it comes to engineering, Collins argues, "Be it mechanical, electrical, biological, the practices
constantly evolve and change. Contrast that with the laws of physics, which remain relatively fixed and
intact." Indeed, engineering best practices in the 1950s differ vastly from those of 2002, while the laws
of physics remain the same, he says.

Co-author of the landmark bestseller, Built to Last, and author of the current Good to Great, Collins
applies the laws of physics to building great organizations. "A thousand years ago and a thousand
years from now, these timeless universal principles and laws of physics would be true, while the
practices attached to the principles change, year to year and decade to decade."

Becoming Great
These scientific principles Collins describes form the core of companies he's dubbed "great
companies," those that have, over time, grown from good to great, according to a stringent formula he
and his research team have developed. A fundamental difference between a practice and a law of
physics, he says, as gleaned from his decade-long studies of such companies, is putting "who"
questions ahead of "what" questions. "That's a law of physics that we discovered in our research: who
proceeds what."

If you think of organizational strategy in the context of a bus - where it's going, who gets on and off,
and so on - Collins says the leaders think first in terms of who: who should be on the bus, who should
be off the bus and who should be in what seats -rather than about where they're going to drive the
bus: a what are we going to do-type question.

Over time, he continues, practices of how we get people on the bus - or in our organizations -
changes. We've evolved from indentured servants to the next stage, jobs, and we're now moving to a
stage where people increasingly contract with organizations in a variety of different ways. Although in
the future, full-time jobs may disappear as the traditional practice, we'll still have to think about getting
the right people in our organizations. So, while the practices for getting people in organizations will
change, the principle - that law of physics that it's always "who" first and then "what" - won't change.

Sustaining the Best


Much of the published works concentrate narrowly on specific best practice areas, yet how can - and
should - companies aspire to attain "best-in-class" overall? Collins says you should start by focusing
on the results you want, specifically, "what produces the most sustained results, and the ultimate
changes in those results." You then back in from that to discover the principles associated with those
results; then seek out what practices are being used to achieve those principles.

Picture it as a cascading chain, he says. At the top of the chain is the actual delivery of sustained
results - superb performance over time. The next level down is the principles that drive that. And the
level down from that is the practices currently used to bring those principles to life.

Caution is advised when relying on best practices, as some dangers lurk. Collins points out two of
them. The first applies to your approach. He says that by not starting backwards - results, back to
principles, back to practices - but rather going from practices outwards, you run the risk that there may
be no relationship between practices and results. Second, what works really well in practice in one
company simply doesn't transfer very well to another company. As CEO of Motorola, Inc., George
Fisher had a series of very successful practices driving the company. When he became the chief
executive of Kodak, his performance wasn't as great. He was unable to turn Kodak into Motorola, even
though he did, arguably, a pretty sound job, says Collins.

That you have to exercise caution doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, he argues. "You can get great
ideas by learning what others are doing. The question is whether they are the right ideas."
While many believe that researching, benchmarking and applying best practices in organizations is a
good practice, Collins advises start with the eight principles, or organizational laws of physics, that he
says correlate with producing the best results. "Those eight are the principles we now understand are
essential for building the greatest companies."

Instead of only asking, "What are best practices?" Collins says, the question really is: "Best practices
in what context?" His answer: "Best practices that help bring to life any and all of those principles."

Editor's note: Read the entire Q&A interview with Jim Collins.

8 Principles For the Best Results

1. Level 5 Leadership. Leaders who are ambitious for the company, not themselves, and tend to
have more humility than ego. They are not charismatic and usually not big celebrities.
2. First "Who" Then "What." Right people on the bus; wrong people off; right people in the
right seats.
3. Confront the Brutal Facts. Do so before outlining the grand vision.
4. Get the Three Circles Right. Build strategy on three cornerstones: doing something you're
passionate about, in which you can be the absolute best in the world and that fundamentally
drives your economic engine.
5. Have a culture of discipline. Not just a culture.
6. Harness Technology. Accelerate momentum once you've hit great results.
7. Flywheel, Not Doom Loop. Push in a consistent direction rather than constantly changing
direction.
8. Build on an Enduring Core Theology and a purpose beyond making money that do not change
over time, ever, under any circumstances.

Source: Jim Collins, author, Good to Great

http://www.adtmag.com/article.aspx?id=10054&page=
is a best practice?
10/1/2004
By Buff Colchagoff
One dictionary definition of practice is: A habitual or customary action or act.
A best practice, therefore, is merely a habitual act that has proven itself to be the
most effective. Theres a buzz now about these industry best practices. Its
obviously valuable to look across an entire industry and discover what common
practices have been proven effective, because those practices may work for you.
However, a best practice can also be specific to an organization; for example, an
effective practice in one workgroup that gets adopted by other workgroups.
Please see the following related stories: Process fortifies software projects
against failure by Buff Colchagoff
Does my process need a face-lift? by Buff Colchagoff

http://goliath.ecnext.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?
pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-1522488#abstract
Publication: Financial Executive
Publication Date: 01-MAR-02
Format: Online - approximately 1273 words
Delivery: Immediate Online Access

Article Excerpt
best(best)adv. prac.tices(prak' tis z)noun; documented strategies, activities and
approaches shown through research and evaluation to be effective at driving the
highest levels of excellence in productivity, profitability and competitivenes.

Logging on to www.google.com keying in "best practices" resulted -- in less than 1


second -- in 3,210,000 entries. Not exactly an easy subject to wrap one's arms
around. Which, ironically, relates to the concept of best practices itself.

Browsing the first 30 pages clearly proved that best practices data permeates a
variety of industries, services, processes and disciplines --ranging from
manufacturing, human resources, communications, consulting, education, health
care, supply...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ccp/ibp/Bestpractices.htm
What is a Best Practice? B

Best Practices are intended to maximize the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of reproductive health
services for women and men worldwide. The IBP Initiative aims to promote the use of these existing Best
Practices by helping diverse organizations in different regions to access, share, and build upon this
knowledge.

The term Best Practice is widely used and there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a
Best Practice. In the context of the IBP Initiative, the term Best Practice spans the spectrum from
Evidence-based Practices to Innovative Practices and Lessons Learned.

On the one end we find the "gold standard" of evidence-based Best Practices. Evaluation methods may
include, for example diagnostic randomized controlled trials, qualitative research studies, and cohort
studies, designed to find evidence from a range of scientific studies and to meticulously appraise and
synthesize the evidence.

Along the spectrum that the IBP Initiative considers the realm of Best Practices, there are methods, tools
and materials that have been demonstrated as effective, as well as innovative. They usually do not
attempt to be universal in scope or application. They are generally approaches and practices that have not
been evaluated as rigorously as the gold standard described above. Nevertheless, they still offer
valuable insight into approaches that have been applied successfully in a given setting.

In short, when the term "Best Practice" is used, it refers to an array of evidence-based tools, materials and
practices, including guidelines, norms, standards, experiences and skills, among others, that have proven
their worth in the field of reproductive health.

http://www.aiccnc.org/bestpracdef.asp
Definition of Best Practice
CURRENT EVENTS:
Statewide Events A practice, method, or process may be deemed as a Best
Nationwide Events Practice:
when it produces superior results. Superior is
CHAMBER defined as 25% or higher results than normal
INFORMATION:
Membership output.
Information when it is clearly a new or innovative use of
Newsletter manpower or technology.
Regional Board when it is recognized by at least three different
Advisors references as a Best Practice (that is, three or more
Mission and Objectives public domain sources have referenced this
Contact AICCNC practice).
when it has received an external award for this
RESOURCES:
Business FAQ's practice.
State Financial Info when it is deemed so by the organization's
Federal Financial Info customers or suppliers.
Business Resources when it is recognized by an industry expert.
Business Opportunities when the organization(s) utilizing it have a patent
Employment Education for the practice, or
Scholarship Info
when it leads to exceptional performance.
LINKS:
American Indian
Organizations
Corporate Sponsor
Other AICC's

http://www.ogc.gov.uk/SDToolkit/reference/ogc_library/bestpracticebriefings/it_projects.pdf
http://www.opengroup.org/naspl/uploads/40/5092/BP0401.pdf
http://www.steamdo.com/b-03.pdf
http://www.ena.org/statecouncils/Orientation/Tab3-
MeetingDevelopment&Marketing/BestPracticeMeasures.pdf
http://www.edusource.ca/english/resources/METADATA.pdf
http://www.specialeducationmuckraker.com/Contest_1.pdf
http://www.ciber.com/downloads/whitepapers/CIBERBestPractices.PDF
http://www.pasa.doh.gov.uk/bestpractice/psmag8.pdf
http://hermes.civil.auth.gr/asiamar/assets/docs/SESSION%201/Tyrinopoulos_1.pdf
http://www.vcu.edu/finance/pdf/covbestpractinstructions.PDF
http://www.lymphoedema.org/bls/pdf_docs/badger.pdf
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/shared_asp_files/uploadedfiles/{9DA75C65-FBFE-4F33-
8CA1-99D014B52989}_Trafficking%20of%20Women.pdf
http://www.hcanj.org/docs/hcanjbp_fallsmgmt5.pdf
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/SDToolkit/reference/ogc_library/bestpracticebriefings/grantinaid.pdf
http://www.nzlsar.org.nz/Churchill_Report_SAR.pdf
http://www.naho.ca/french/pdf/research_path.pdf
http://www.wisard.org/InfoSARD/materials/manuals/GPmanual.pdf
http://www.cohpa.ucf.edu/ccp/library/workingpaper3.pdf#search='Best%20Practice
%20definition'

5.2 Best Practice definition


"Best is contextual term. It means "best for you" - in the context of your
business, your company, your culture, your use of technology, and your
competitive strategies. The purpose of Best Practice is to disturb you with
new ideas and insights. We mean disturb in a positive way: All creative
ideas and insights have their origin in the minds of people dissatisfied or
puzzled by what they encounter in the world. This cognitive dissonance
demands a resolution to problems, simple or complex. Sometimes that
discovery comes in a sudden illumination; sometimes, over months of trial
and error..." (This abstract is taken from a book by Hiebeler, Kelly and
Ketteman ISBN0-684-86035-X) and reflects the author's view of Best
Practice.

.1 Best Practice caution !


There is much debate in academic circles about the use of the term Best
Practice and its inappropriateness given the problems of maintenance of
explicit information and the problems of absolute authority on what is best
practice at any point in time.

What this web page provides is a definition of the aims of best practice to
which the author concurs and a table of "good practice" observed by
academics who were familiar with current literature and business processes
at the time of audit. (June 1997- June 1998).

You might also like