Patterns

It may seem like these types of practices are patterns. Indeed some of the practices actually detail certain patterns and how to implement them, but they're different from patterns in that they are not specific implementations of logic to produce a specific result or fulfill a specific need. Practices can detail implementation but they don't need to. They can detail higher-level tasks or process without providing specific detail of how to implement the practice.

"Use source code control," for example, is a very common recommended practice. Any given software project involves collaborating with other team members working on the same code base and sometimes the same files in the code base. The team also needs to deal with subsequent and concurrent versions of the code base in their work of creating and maintaining the code base.