Runbook Generation

A runbook is a step-by-step procedure for handling a specific operational scenario. It is read under stress, often at 3 AM, by someone who may not be the author. Every instruction must be unambiguous, every command must be copy-pasteable, and every decision point must have clear criteria. Claude can generate runbooks from incident postmortems, operational knowledge, or verbal descriptions of procedures.

The runbook prompt: "Generate a runbook for this scenario: [description]. Use this structure: Title, When to Use (trigger conditions), Prerequisites (access, tools, permissions needed), Steps (numbered, each with: the action, the expected result, and what to do if the expected result does not occur), Escalation (who to contact if the runbook does not resolve the issue), Post-Resolution (verification steps and cleanup)." The "what to do if the expected result does not occur" instruction is critical — it handles the branching that real incidents always require.