[NHCOLL-L:798] Re: "best practice"

[Carolyn Rissanen]

"Best practice" implies to me that some sort of professional judgement has been
made - the field has been surveyed and the professionals all agree that this is
"best practice".  The closest term in my mind is "standard" - it is the goal to
which we all aspire.  Are they different?  I would hope they would be the same;
that our standards are best practice.

-Carolyn Rissanen
Oakland Museum of California

Cato wrote:

> "Best practice" is a term that has become popular recently -- and it
> surfaced during committee meeting discussions at the SPNHC annual meeting.
> But where does it fit in the spectrum of recommended practices and
> protocols?
>
> How does the term differ from terms already in use including:  standards,
> guidelines, procedures, protocols, policies?  Or does it have the same
> meaning as one or more of these?
>
> Does it imply some level of review has taken place?
>
> If you received a publication entitled, "Best Practices for mounting
> vascular plants" and one entitled, "Guidelines for mounting vascular
> plants", how would your expectations for the contents of the pub differ? or
> would you expect to see the same information?
>
> --------
> The following definitions have been previously published in conservation and
> collection management literature & are provided for comparison:
>
> guideline - formalization presented by a technical society or governmental
> agency as basis for voluntary adherence as the basis for acceptance of work
> product; requires additional thought and evaluation by the practitioner to
> implement on single project work.
>
> policy - broad statement outlining the intent of the institution with
> respect to one or more of its objectives, as adopted by the board.  Once a
> policy is adopted by the board a formal amendment procedure is followed to
> change it.  A governing principle; a framework for carrying out work; a
> definition of what is to be done
>
> procedure - a statement of how a governing principle will be implemented;
> rules and regulations applied to a framework; a definition of how the policy
> is to be carried out.
>
> protocol - the literature in general; whenever the author presents a
> formalized means of undertaking and producing accurate and reproducible work
> product; generally peer-reviewed but not subject to wide scrutiny or comment
> of the profession; requires significant individual thought to adapt to
> single-project use by the professional.
>
> protocol - the set of rules by which two or more computers communicate.
> Generally applied to modems, protocol also refers to any guidelines by which
> a computer communicates with a peripheral device.
>
> standard - a measure, principle, model, etc., established for use as a rule
> or basis in comparison in measuring or judging capacity, quantity, content,
> extent, value, quantity, etc.
>
> standard - a codification of technology or procedure developed, tested,
> peer-reviewed, and published by a professional society or governmental
> agency; to be adhered to by members and subscribers; generally must be
> followed closely in attention to its prescribed detail.
>
> ---------
>
> Paisley S. Cato
> Curator
> San Diego Natural History Museum