of IT resources. In addition, it is necessary to have the mechanisms to implement best practices (for example, implement and manage IT operations processes in line with the ITIL), increase the effectiveness of IT personnel (for example, automate repetitive tasks associated with IT operations processes), and have the tools to report on how well the processes are executed in line with established policies and service levels. Patents have been granted for various aspects of producing, improving, and using runbooks. Some tools can incorporate a front-end or presentation layer (to the runbook) so that the results of the automated tasks are presented on-screen, sometimes even with red/amber/green traffic lights to visualise if a specific task completed successfully, or failed to execute correctly. See also Automation Support automation Prompt book References IT Operations Run Book Automation, by David Williams, Gartner. May 4, 2007. Further reading Workflow technology Automation software System administration