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When are you smarter than your playbooks, and when are your playbooks smarter than you?
That’s a question that engineers rarely step back to consider. The rational, disciplined parts of our minds tell us that the playbooks we are supposed to follow were carefully designed and tested and that we should stick to them at all costs.
Data science notebooks, a popular document format used for publishing code, results, and explanations in readable and executable form, broke new ground by combining an ongoing narrative with interactive elements and displays. The result was a new way to capture and transfer knowledge about the process of discovering insights. By studying why data science notebooks have worked so well, we can understand more about related areas with similar characteristics, such as Technology Operations (TechOps).
At first glance, many of the attributes of data science notebooks also apply to TechOps. However, the data scientist and TechOps cohort have different objectives. A data scientist is interested in variable results based on changing elements within queries. A TechOps team responsible for complex operational systems looks for variables and patterns, seeks to understand the root cause, and takes corrective action. Data science notebooks are conducive to instruction and are easy to change. However, in a production operations setting, things need to be repeatable rather than variable. To align with the different user needs in TechOps, the notebook concept evolved into runbooks.
The terms runbooks and playbooks are often used interchangeably. They are similar--they both offer a method of documenting tactical and strategic executions of the goals and processes of your organization. But there are important differences between the two, and each has its place. Once you understand that difference, you will be able to effectively use them individually, but even more importantly, you will be able to pair the two techniques together, creating a powerful weapon in your arsenal of operational excellence.
So let's look at the differences between a runbook and a playbook, what each is used for, and how they can be used together.