As creative projects (software, painting...) we finish or satisfactorily achieve relatively few items. And except for the most repetitive of us, these achievements are pretty different. Wide space, chaos, few satisfactory products by comparison. That doesn't bode well for "magic recipe". All the way to "rules of thumb" that we take fun in violating.
So there are two issues in there: We have more taste than skill and so many of our attempts will disappoint us no matter what. And we will obsess on trying to find a magic formula - when it's rather likely that there isn't one. The "space" is large and chaotic and we might want to reassure ourselves instead that serendipity has something to do with it.
Is there then place for rules of thumb? Whatever let's us get to work in the morning, I guess. For me, I do like the recognition of past track record: with a bit of age hindsight, I know I can do it - no need to dispair. That is useful and reassuring. If I just try some more - in ever varying manners, it will happen.
One place for "rules of thumbs" is in them being tropes. We can get some impact on the viewer by violating them. There is a trope of learning the rules so you can violate them. For example a Rule of Thirds - can be fertile grounds for getting at the viewer. The rule doesn't do much for us, and we have no problem violating it, but our less savvy viewers might remember it and get one more whiff of meaning from the violation. And if we are less concerned with our own satisfaction and more interested in sales, we might pay attention to "what's popular these days" and produce some of that. Not all artists are dead set on personal achievement at the cost of sales. A slightly different look at such rules.