As a hosting company working with many different Drupal companies, we are in the fortunate position to observe many successful solutions. I will focus on a number of the common traits and patterns we repeatedly see from our most successful deployments.

These traits include:

• Automation
• Preparation
• Defined processes
• Flexibility
• Honesty

Together, these constitute our observed best practices for improving not only the bottom line, but the also the day to day work environment for both editors and developers. I will share how we have learned from our customers and incorporated these lessons into our daily routines.