We are working on a project to replace the work that wasn't quite done in the best way possible the first time around.
We want the code name to be something that means "this is how you ……… do it, ………", but in a nice way.
What word would I use for this?
canonical
• accepted as being accurate and authoritative: the canonical method of comparative linguistics.
• according to recognized rules or scientific laws: canonical nucleotide sequences.
Other alternatives include: established, orthodox, standard, customary, prevailing.
To begin with, it seems to me that simply saying "proper" would fit your example nicely, although I suppose a case could be made that it's not the most tactful choice.
Beyond that, if you're talking about something that is formally anointed as proper: official, canonical, recognized, orthodox.
If informally considered proper: traditional, customary, normal.
You might get some mileage out of the warm fuzzies of optimal.
By the book. It may not be one word, but it's still fewer syllables than canonical.
In British English you could try "pukka", as in "This is the pukka way to do it ....."
My two suggestions would be protocol or etiquette. Either one suggests that this is the proper thing to do.
