No matter how complex the processes or magical the output is, ultimately, it can and should be reduced to a set of rules, for continuity sake.
Modus operandi (plural modi operandi) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as “method of operation”. The term is used to describe someone’s habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations. In English, it is often shortened to M.O. […] In business, modus operandi is used to describe a firm’s preferred means of doing business and interacting with other firms.
modus operandi
noun
\ˌmō-dəs-ˌä-pə-ˈran-dē, -ˌdī\
(moh-duhs op-uh-ran-dee)
Any organisation (community or company) needs a sort of M.O. ★ for the sake of effeciency and to have the ability to respond and recover from any sudden changes in the operations or workforce.
On that note, I wrote an M.O. ★ … it boils down to the following.
Guidelines
- Best Practice - techniques that have consistently shown results
- Code Review - how to examine each others code
- Convention - that which is considered acceptable or polite to most
- Style - easy to read and good to look at
The Top Layer
- Be consistent.
- Teach, if you can.
- Publish what you learn.
- Many heads are inevitably better than one.
- Don’t violate a guideline without a good reason.
- A reason is good when you can convince a teammate.
- Don’t rewrite existing code to follow the code guidelines.
- Code well. Everyone leaves. Your last duty should be to hand it off to a competent successor.
- Don’t wait for crisis to change, adopt an M.O. asap and stay safe.
Language
- “Avoid” means don’t do it unless you have good reason.
- “Don’t” means there’s never a good reason.
- “Prefer” indicates there’s a better option, you can evaluate it’s pros and cons.
- “Use” is a positive instruction.
- “Limit” is a caution against excesses.
- “Team” comprises a group of people linked in a common purpose.
- Lack of “Avoid”, “Don’t”, “Prefer”, “Use” or “Limit” implies a rule.