A runbook is a detailed “how-to” guide for completing a commonly repeated task or procedure within a company’s IT operations process (e.g. provisioning, software updates / deployment, change configs, and opening ports). Runbooks are created to provide everyone on the team—new or experienced—the knowledge and steps to quickly and accurately resolve a given issue. For example, a runbook may outline routine operations tasks such as patching a server or renewing a website’s SSL certificate. Think of a runbook as a recipe. It provides detailed instructions for completing a specific task in a quick and efficient manner based on previous experiences with resolving the issue. Runbooks allow more experienced members on the team to share their knowledge so newer or more junior members can more easily resolve commonly faced issues themselves. It also means all team members can quickly refresh their memory and follow detailed steps without having to memorize countless individual procedures. W...