While I’m pretty good at following directions, it’s not something that I do naturally. I usually have to make a conscious effort to make sure I’m proceeding through them in the exact sequence and not leaving out any steps.

Personally, I’d usually just rather try to work with the goal I’m aiming for, the parts I’m given, and try to figure out how to do the task at hand on my own. Unfortunately, in terms of a finished product, setting off on my own rarely returns optimal results and it usually ends up taking considerably longer than if I had just followed the directions to begin with.

It’s very similar to the situation that many developers and IT organizations find themselves in when it comes to the development process. Most developers and IT organizations lean toward development processes that are mainly reactive—they are given a set of requirements, rush off to create a solution according to the way they like to work, and end up having to live with applications that are often substandard—either from the design perspective or the effectiveness of the deployed solution.

Like instructions that help guide you through the best way to assemble a BBQ grill or bicycle, identifying best practices within your IT environment can streamline processes, reduce costs and time, and increase the consistency and effectiveness of the results. I believe that organizations need to work harder to identify, define, and implement best practices throughout their IT organization and IT processes.

Perhaps the best place to start is by looking at some of the challenges that are being put onto today’s application development projects. In short, most organizations that I’ve spoken with are faced with the “Do More With Less” problem—how to do more for the business with fewer resources. The end effect is a common set of pressures on the development cycle and the developers:

More things to manage—especially as organization move toward SOA-based environments.

• Reduced time-to-market
• Rapid and continual adaptation and modification of requirements
• Increased expectations—customers (and business users) expect it to work right the first time
• More partner and customer interactions
• The need for increased reliability
• Greater security risks and requirements

Smart organizations are beginning to realize the effects of these types of pressures and working to streamline their development process. Examining and implementing best practices are often one part of the solution.