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Data reliability · Template

Pipeline recovery runbook template

By VarvetaUpdated

Copy this worksheet before recovering a failed load. Record the affected data and destination write state, agree a safe replay, and collect the evidence needed to release downstream work. Replace every placeholder with facts from your environment.

1. Record the incident and impact

Keep secrets and customer-level data out of the incident record. Link to restricted evidence in your own systems when needed.

FieldRecord
Incident / run / task identifiers[Identifiers and links]
Affected source, destination and interval[Systems, timezone and exact interval]
Last verified output[Checkpoint, refresh time and evidence]
Business impact and owner[Affected reports, users and decision owner]
Operator and escalation contact[Names or team channels]

2. Decide whether replay is safe

Stop and escalate if you cannot establish whether destination writes committed, cannot isolate the affected interval, or lack authorization for the proposed correction.

  • Identify the observed failure and record the supporting evidence.
  • Inspect partial files, committed records and any downstream publication.
  • Agree whether to pause downstream jobs or flag stale reports.
  • Document a fixed replay interval and the duplicate-safe write strategy.
  • Check notifications, external processes and other side effects separately.
  • Record the reviewed correction and a rollback or recovery path.

3. Collect validation evidence

Set criteria before replay. The table names checks to consider; it does not supply universal thresholds.

CheckExpected resultObserved result / evidence
Expected partitions and interval[Agreed coverage][Result and evidence link]
Business-key uniqueness[Key and duplicate rule][Result and evidence link]
Source / destination reconciliation[Counts, totals and tolerances][Result and evidence link]
Freshness and downstream report[Agreed refresh and report checks][Result and evidence link]

4. Record publication and follow-up

Publication decision: [approved / held, decision owner and time]. Remaining exceptions: [issue, owner and next action]. Repeated-failure prevention: [change, owner and review date].

This is an unfilled operating template, not a completed incident report. Rehearse the adapted procedure in a safe environment before relying on it during an incident.

Technical references

Examples and templates are illustrative. Adapt acceptance criteria and operating procedures to your environment.