Which of the following options supports the Operational Excellence pillar by preparing a workload?

The Operational Excellence pillar in the AWS Well-Architected Framework focuses on running and monitoring systems to deliver business value and continually improve supporting processes and procedures. Preparing a workload effectively aligns with this pillar by ensuring that teams have structured and organized methods for handling operational tasks and incidents.

Utilizing checklists, playbooks, and runbooks is essential for operational excellence as they provide clear, repeatable guidance for managing workloads. Checklists can help ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prepare a workload before it goes live. Playbooks detail specific processes that teams can follow in various scenarios to respond effectively and consistently. Runbooks provide operational procedures and troubleshooting steps that teams can follow to resolve issues efficiently.

This structured approach enhances reliability, reduces human error, and improves team collaboration, all of which are critical components of operational excellence.

While the other options listed certainly play significant roles in workload management and performance, they do not focus specifically on the preparatory aspect of operations in the same comprehensive manner as checklists, playbooks, and runbooks do. Code repositories pertain primarily to the storage and versioning of code, monitoring tools are crucial for observing workload performance, and automated backups are vital for data recovery. However, none of these capture the essence of preparing a