Hi! This site is for documenting what we call playbooks. They are part of our digital manual and they are quick to read, checklist-oriented guides. They capture our real life experience doing this work, and are built on the experience of peer organizations (other cities and governments) where available.
Playbooks should be revisited regularly to make sure they are working. They belong to you, so if you can improve a playbook, please share your ideas so that your peers can benefit from your experience.
Built to change
Playbooks are made to continually improve. Each playbook should be reviewed annually, or as needed. They should capture what works, and they should generate better results in our key performance indicators.
Checklist-driven
Playbooks are intended to be action-oriented. They should be concise, actionable steps towards success. A playbook should be readable in a few minutes, and should contain high priority items that ensure success, not step-by-step instructions. If you want to learn more about writing great checklists, read “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande.
Playbook structure
The template for a playbook should follow this format:
- Title – a plain language title
- Summary – a 2-3 sentence description of this playbook’s purpose
- Use this when – a 2-3 sentence description of the business conditions
- Process – a checklist of the high level steps a person should take to be successful
- Principles – concepts or guidelines that are helpful to consider while executing the process
- Examples (optional) – if available, examples of how this playbook has been successful