Git is foundational, not the whole operations system
Git handles versioning, code review, and playbook history. That is not enough to govern the full run lifecycle. Git will not tell you who executed a specific run, with which input values, which preflight conditions were met, and what the final outcome was in the context of the whole team. The runbook in LaraDep fills this gap — it defines the entire process from intent to change to documented outcome.
What belongs in a runbook
A good runbook is not an encyclopedia — it is an operational document the team actually uses. Minimum content:
- Scope and intent — exactly what changes, why, and what the expected outcome is.
- Target environment — servers, groups, workspace context — what is in scope and what is out of scope.
- Inputs and variables — which values are needed, where they come from, how they are confirmed.
- Preflight conditions — what must be true before the run starts.
- Execution procedure — who runs it, in what order, with which parameters.
- Outcome verification — how we know the run completed correctly.
- Rollback procedure — what to do if the result is not as expected.
Runbook standard in LaraDep
- Define scope and targets. The workspace context determines available servers — scope is constrained structurally, not just by agreement.
- Confirm inputs. Variables and secrets are prepared in LaraDep context — not in chat or plaintext files.
- Run preflight validation. LaraDep performs preflight checks before execution. A failed preflight stops the run.
- Execute the run. Execution is recorded — who ran it, when, from which workspace, with which inputs.
- Review the outcome. Logs and results are available in LaraDep for immediate and future review.
Governance and audit trail
Governance in the context of operations means one thing: the ability to answer "who ran what, when, with which inputs, and with what outcome" — at any time, for any run in history. LaraDep records for each run:
- User identity and start and completion timestamps.
- Workspace context and template stack used.
- Input variables (without secret values).
- Preflight results — which checks ran and with what outcomes.
- Complete log stream and final outcome.
Audit record visibility is controlled by roles — workspace members see records in their workspace, administrators across workspace contexts. Secret values are not part of the record, not even for administrators.
How the audit trail helps with compliance
For regulated environments (ISO, SOC 2, GDPR, internal audits), the audit trail in LaraDep provides an overview of all infrastructure changes over a given period, identification of who changed what and when, and documentable evidence of process discipline. LaraDep is not a certified compliance solution — it is a tool that makes it easier to follow your team's internal processes.
Incident review as an operational routine
Do not introduce incident review only after major outages. Regular run reviews — weekly or after each release — are more effective as prevention. Review runs over the last period, identify deviations from the standard, verify roles and access, and update the runbook with new lessons learned.
Next step: Continue with guided deployment and preflight and templates and workflow.