Runbooks and Playbooks
Having read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, I’ve been a big fan of checklists. Back as a dev in a high performing, we had some very manual but repetitive tasks, by creating checklists we were able to reduce errors/bugs.
It seems like these were in fact runbooks, and I’ve heard a lot about playbooks.
This article explains the differences and provides a good example.
Runbooks are best defined as a tactical method of completing a task–the series of steps needed to complete some process for a known end-goal.
A playbook, on the other hand, is a little broader. It is the culmination of those tactical processes, creating a larger plan focused on strategic action. They are a checklist of formal steps and actions.
Published 7 May 2021, with 126 words.