ABSTRACT
Understanding or identifying your organization’s best practices is not a difficult thing to do. The challenge for most organizations is that they have to work within the context of preconceived notions as to what a best practice really means and the misconception of how it should be effectively deployed. A best practice, as we will soon learn, can have a significant impact on an organization’s ability to improve performance within the software development life cycle and to deliver 658quality products on time and within budget. Unfortunately, it can also become that ill-fated silver bullet that fails to produce the anticipated or desired results. The way forward is for an organization to understand clearly how to recognize a best practice, what makes for successful execution, and ultimately how to identify its own best practices.
