Configure Playbooks (SOPs) for Ask Yarken

Use this article to create, manage, and improve Playbooks and SOPs that guide Ask Yarken analysis.

What Playbooks and SOPs do

Playbooks and SOPs define how Ask Yarken handles repeatable analysis workflows.

They help teams:

1. Standardize analysis across users.

2. Use approved calculation logic.

3. Align responses to Finance, TBM, or FinOps methods.

4. Set preferred output formats.

5. Reduce inconsistent interpretation in executive reporting.

Playbooks do not override permissions, create missing data, or change source records. They guide analysis within Yarken's governed data environment.

Where to configure Playbooks

To manage Playbooks and SOPs:

1. Go to Admin.

2. Select Settings.

3. Under AI, select Playbooks.

4. Open the Agent SOPs tab.

From this screen, administrators can view, create, upload, edit, download, and delete SOPs.

Create a new SOP

To create a new SOP:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Playbooks.

2. In the Agent SOPs tab, select + Add New.

3. Enter an ID, for example sop_variance_analysis.

4. Enter a Title.

5. Enter a Description.

6. Add the Instructions.

7. Select Save.

The SOP becomes available to guide Ask Yarken analysis for matching workflows.

Edit an SOP

To edit an existing SOP:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Playbooks.

2. In the Agent SOPs tab, select the edit icon.

3. Update the metadata or instructions.

4. Select Save.

Review changes before saving. SOP updates can affect how Ask Yarken handles repeatable analysis across users.

Download SOPs

To download existing SOPs:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Playbooks.

2. In the Agent SOPs tab, select the ellipsis button.

3. Select Download.

Use this to back up SOPs, review them offline, or move approved definitions between environments.

Upload SOPs

To upload SOP files:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Playbooks.

2. In the Agent SOPs tab, select Upload.

3. Use the Uploaded Files tab to confirm the file loaded successfully.

The Uploaded Files tab shows processing details such as file name, destination, file type, status, loaded records, total records, and errors.

Write effective SOP instructions

Strong SOP instructions are specific.

A useful SOP defines:

1. The data area to analyze.

2. The fields or dimensions to use.

3. The filters to apply.

4. The measures to return.

5. Any calculated columns to create.

6. The calculation logic.

7. The expected response structure.

8. Caveats or exclusions.

Weak instruction:

Retrieve monthly spend for Azure.

Stronger instruction:

Filter cloud spend where Provider Name is Azure. Return monthly Billed Cost for the selected financial year. Include month-over-month change and identify the top service category contributing to any increase above 10%.

Define calculations carefully

If an SOP requires derived values, define each calculation explicitly.

Example for monthly cloud spend:

• Return Usage Spend as Billed Cost where Provider is AWS and Charge Description does not contain AWS Marketplace.

• Return Marketplace Spend as marketplace charges only.

• Create PPA Discount as Usage Spend x 0.13.

• Create Support Fee as Usage Spend x 0.1092.

• Create Total Invoice Amount as Usage Spend + Marketplace Spend - PPA Discount + Support Fee.

Also specify:

• Source fields.

• Charge type logic.

• Currency columns.

• Whether calculated values come from source data or SOP-added logic.

Avoid referencing fields that are not present in the source dataset or available analysis context.

Recommended SOP structure

Use this structure:

1. Objective.

2. Trigger questions or use cases.

3. Data source or analysis area.

4. Required dimensions and measures.

5. Required filters.

6. Ordered analysis steps.

7. Calculation rules.

8. Output format.

9. Recommendation rules.

10. Caveats and limits.

Example SOP: budget variance analysis

ID: sop_budget_variance_analysis

Title: Budget variance analysis

Description: Explains material variance between actual spend, budget, and forecast across financial and operational dimensions.

Instructions:

1. Identify the time period in the user question. If no period is provided, use the current financial year-to-date.

2. Compare Actual Spend against Budget Spend for the requested scope.

3. Calculate Variance Amount as Actual Spend minus Budget Spend.

4. Calculate Variance % as Variance Amount divided by Budget Spend. If Budget Spend is zero, return N/A.

5. Identify top drivers by account, vendor, cost center, application, and consumer where available.

6. Separate recurring cost increases from one-off items where transaction detail is available.

7. Return a summary, key drivers, evidence table, and recommended actions.

8. If the requested scope is ambiguous, ask a short clarifying question before applying filters.

Example SOP: vendor review

ID: sop_vendor_review

Title: Vendor spend and renewal review

Description: Analyzes vendor spend and contract exposure to support renewal planning and cost governance.

Instructions:

1. Identify the vendor, time period, entity, and cost center in scope.

2. Summarize total spend for the selected vendor and period.

3. Break spend down by account, application, cost center, and entity where available.

4. Identify active or upcoming contracts for the vendor.

5. Highlight contracts expiring within the next 90 days.

6. Identify unusual spend increases or concentration risk.

7. Recommend next actions for review, renegotiation, consolidation, or further analysis.

SOP governance recommendations

1. Assign SOP ownership to Finance, ITFM, TBM, or FinOps leads.

2. Review SOPs after major data model or policy changes.

3. Test SOPs with real examples before broad release.

4. Use consistent naming conventions.

5. Keep descriptions clear and specific.

6. Remove SOPs that are no longer used.

7. Avoid overlapping SOPs that answer the same question in different ways.

8. Confirm restricted data remains governed by user permissions.

Common mistakes and fixes

Next step

Manage Ask Yarken settings, Copilots, and Knowledge Base

Related articles

• Ask Yarken

• Use Ask Yarken for spend, variance, cloud, contracts, and planning analysis

• Manage Ask Yarken settings, Copilots, and Knowledge Base