Business Ops Runbook Generator

Build a Runbook with Rollback Paths

Estimated time: 20-30 minutes

This workflow produces an operational runbook for a recurring task or incident response, with an explicit rollback path for every way the task can fail. It captures the brief, infers the failure modes, drafts the runbook steps and checks, and then pairs each failure mode with a recovery action. Review and refine each step before advancing.

Steps

Step 1: Capture the Runbook Brief

Open by telling the user you will build a runbook with rollback paths, then ask them for: what task or incident the runbook covers, who runs it, what could go wrong, and the current pain. Ask these as a single grouped question and wait for the answer. Record the response verbatim as the brief.

• Input: user description of the task or incident, operator, known risks, current pain
• Output: a captured runbook brief
• Key focus: scope the exact task or incident before generating anything

Step 2: Infer the Failure Modes (uses: ops-process-doc)

From the brief, infer the concrete ways this task can fail. List each failure mode and give a one-paragraph reasoning. State explicitly that the runbook will need a rollback path for each mode. Surface the inference to the user so they can add or correct failure modes before you draft the runbook.

• Input: runbook brief from Step 1
• Output: an enumerated list of failure modes with reasoning
• Key focus: each failure mode is specific enough to design a recovery for

Step 3: Draft the Runbook (uses: ops-process-doc)

Draft the full runbook: an ordered sequence of execution steps, each with the action to take and a verification check that confirms the step succeeded before moving on. Show the draft to the user and ask whether to refine it or proceed to rollback paths. If they ask for changes, revise the runbook against their feedback and show it again. Allow up to three refinement passes.

• Input: runbook brief from Step 1, failure modes from Step 2, user refinement feedback
• Output: a reviewed runbook draft (ordered steps plus per-step verification checks)
• Key focus: every step has an action and a check, so the operator never guesses

Step 4: Define Rollback Paths (uses: ops-process-doc)

For each failure mode from Step 2 and each runbook step that can fail, define the rollback path: exactly what to do if that step fails, how to restore a known-good state, and who to escalate to. Show the rollback paths to the user and ask whether to refine them or ship the runbook. If they ask for changes, revise against their feedback and show them again. Allow up to two refinement passes.

• Input: runbook from Step 3, failure modes from Step 2, user refinement feedback
• Output: a reviewed rollback path for each failure mode and risky step
• Key focus: a clear, safe recovery for every way the task can go wrong

Step 5: Assemble and Ship the Runbook Package

Assemble the final deliverable as a single document containing: the brief, the failure modes, the runbook, and the rollback paths. Confirm the package is complete and hand it to the user.

• Input: brief, failure modes, runbook, rollback paths from prior steps
• Output: the assembled runbook package document
• Key focus: one operator-ready artifact covering both the happy path and recovery