6 Questions to Design Your Program Playbook

Whether you're designing a new Playbook, restructuring an existing one or simply just adding a new play, it's important to design a template that is clear, consistent and fun.

This will not only help onboarding new members but also answer the most obvious questions around any program's structure and set of expectations. And more importantly, it will limit the concentration of knowledge with only a handful of people.

What is a Playbook, exactly?

Cambridge Dictionary defines it as: “A set of rules or suggestions that are considered to be suitable for a particular activity, industry, or job”

I like to think of it as a knowledge hub that is specialized in activities (a.k.a. plays or tools) that enable participants, members or teams to collaborate, ideate, problem solve, make decisions, etc.

A thoughtfully designed Playbook should encourage everyone to access program information easily, use tools (aka workshops), rituals, and ceremonies to work more efficiently and effectively, as well as problem solve and to foster their creativity. This shouldn’t be a function-specific privilege, but rather a front-and-center standard that can be accessed at anytime.

Below, is an example of a program Playbook that I made for a virtual community space hosted on Howspace.

Six Questions

Note: No matter how much of an expert you are, it is very important to remember that this template should not be used in isolation. It is vital to answer these questions with the help of others.

Here are the six questions that I use:

1. The Why: So that you and everyone else are on the same page. This a critical question to be crystal clear on.

2. The What: What is this thing? What are the expectations? What are the rules of engagement? (i.e. program, workshop, community space, etc.). It is important to define this thing as clearly and concisely as possible before others do it for you.

3. The Who's: Who is this for? Who must be there? Who could be there? Who is this not for? What is a program without its players? It is highly important to define your who's. After all, programs are not designed for everyone and you want the intended audience to show up ready and willing.

4. The How: How does it work? How do people engage? How do they show up? This is the heavy part. In this section, you need to strike the right balance between details and clarity. You don’t want it to be too long but also detailed enough. A practical way of structuring this is by splitting the actions into phases, by giving an indication of how much time each phase will take, and by stating the roles and responsibilities at each phase.

5. The When: When do we run it? When does it happen? This varies between industries. In the Tech industry, this can refer to the product development cycle. In the creative sector, this can refer to a particular time of the year.

6. The Culture: What kind of culture are you advocating for? You might not have the exact answer to this question from the get-go. Nevertheless, you should not leave it blank and start thinking about how culture shows-up in your program. You are better off building a few key values in your Playbook and then testing it over time. Keep repeating until you find the correct answer as to what culture looks and feels like in action.