tractorjuice--arckit-gemini/docs/guides/operationalize.md

Operational Readiness Playbook

Guide Origin: Official | ArcKit Version: [VERSION]

/arckit:operationalize creates an operational readiness pack covering support model, runbooks, DR/BCP, on-call, and handover documentation.

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Inputs

Artefact	Purpose
Requirements (ARC-<id>-REQ-v1.0.md)	NFRs for availability, performance, recovery
Architecture diagrams	Components for runbook inventory
Risk register	Operational risks to mitigate
Data model	Backup requirements and data dependencies

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Command

/arckit:operationalize Create operational readiness pack for <service>

Output: projects/<id>/ARC-<id>-OPS-v1.0.md

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Readiness Pack Structure

Section	Contents
Service Overview	Name, criticality, tier, stakeholders, dependencies
Service Level Objectives	SLIs, SLOs, error budgets, breach response
Support Model	Support tiers, escalation matrix, on-call rotation
Monitoring & Observability	Health checks, metrics, dashboards, logs, tracing
Alerting Strategy	Routing rules, severity definitions, fatigue prevention
Runbooks	Service start/stop, health check failures, errors, capacity
Disaster Recovery	DR strategy, RTO/RPO, failover/failback procedures
Business Continuity	Impact analysis, workarounds, communication plan
Backup & Restore	Schedule, retention, verification, restore procedures
Capacity Planning	Baseline, projections, scaling thresholds
Security Operations	Access management, vulnerability scanning (11.3 with VMS), remediation SLAs (11.4 with VMS benchmarks), patch management (11.5)
Deployment & Release	Windows, rollback, feature flags, migrations
Knowledge Transfer	Training materials, SME contacts, onboarding
Handover Checklist	Comprehensive go-live checklist
Operational Metrics	MTTR, MTBF, change failure rate, deployment frequency
UK Government Considerations	GDS Point 14, NCSC guidance, cross-government dependencies

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Service Tier Mapping

Tier	Availability	RTO	RPO	Support	On-Call
Critical	99.95%+	<1hr	<15min	24/7	Yes, immediate
Important	99.9%	<4hr	<1hr	24/7	Yes, 15min response
Standard	99.5%	<24hr	<4hr	Business hours	Best effort

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Runbook Structure

Each runbook must include:

Section	Contents
Purpose	What problem this runbook addresses
Prerequisites	Access, tools, knowledge required
Detection	How you know this runbook is needed
Steps	Numbered, specific, actionable steps
Verification	How to confirm the issue is resolved
Escalation	When and how to escalate
Rollback	How to undo changes if needed

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Standard Runbooks Required

Runbook	Purpose
Service Start/Stop	Graceful start and stop procedures
Health Check Failures	Response when health checks fail
High Error Rate	Diagnosis and mitigation for elevated errors
Performance Degradation	Response when SLOs are breached
Capacity Issues	Scaling procedures (manual and automatic)
Security Incident	Initial response for security events
Critical Vulnerability Remediation	Response when critical CVEs or VMS alerts require urgent patching
Dependency Failure	Response when upstream services fail

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One-Page Workflow

Phase	Key Activities	ArcKit Commands
Discovery	Define requirements and architecture	/arckit:requirements, /arckit:diagram
Design	Create HLD/DLD, identify risks	/arckit:hld-review, /arckit:risk
Build	Implement, test, document	/arckit:backlog, /arckit:devops
Readiness	Create operational pack	/arckit:operationalize
Go-Live	Handover, train, transition	/arckit:servicenow

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Handover Checklist Summary

• All runbooks written and reviewed
• Monitoring dashboards created and tested
• Alerts configured and tested
• On-call rotation staffed
• DR tested within last 6 months
• Backups verified and restore tested
• Support team trained
• Escalation contacts confirmed
• Access provisioned for support team
• Documentation in knowledge base
• SLOs agreed with stakeholders
• VMS enrolled and scanning active (UK Government)
• Vulnerability remediation SLAs documented and agreed
• Critical vulnerability remediation runbook tested

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Review Checklist

• Every NFR has corresponding SLO/SLI.
• Every major component has a runbook.
• DR/BCP procedures documented and tested.
• On-call rotation defined with sustainable schedule.
• Escalation paths clear with contact details.
• Training plan exists for operations team.
• RTO/RPO align with architecture capability.

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Key Principles

1. SRE-First: Define SLIs before SLOs before alerts.
2. Actionable Runbooks: Specific, numbered steps with actual commands.
3. Realistic RTO/RPO: Must match architecture capability.
4. Human-Centric: On-call should be sustainable (no burnout).
5. Continuous Improvement: Regular reviews, post-incident improvements.