Designing in Playbook Studio
Working with sessions
Add, insert, switch presentation, and connect session cards on the Studio canvas.
Sessions are the building blocks of a playbook.
Every workshop, meeting, review, checkpoint, or activity you plan in Playbook Studio is represented by a session. Together, those sessions define the journey participants will experience when the playbook is running.
This guide covers creating, organising, and managing sessions on the canvas.
Two ways a session can appear
Sessions can be displayed in two formats.
Session card
The standard format, showing details such as title, type, duration, pre-work, and agenda information.
Sticky note
A lightweight placeholder used when you're sketching ideas and haven't fully designed the session yet.
You can switch between the two views at any time. Changing the presentation does not affect the underlying session data.
Many teams start with sticky notes during early planning and convert them into full session cards as the playbook takes shape.
Adding sessions
There are three ways to work with session structure.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add session | Creates a new session at the end of the current phase. |
| Insert session | Creates a new session between two existing sessions. |
| Add goal | Attaches a goal to the session. See Goals and the G hotkey. |
To insert a session, hover between two adjacent sessions and click the + button that appears.
Session order
Session order is part of the playbook structure.
Sessions are arranged according to:
- The phase they belong to.
- Their position within that phase.
Because order directly affects the participant journey, sessions cannot be freely dragged around the canvas.
Order matters. The sequence you see in Playbook Studio is the sequence participants experience when the playbook is running.
The canvas intentionally separates phases visually. You'll notice there are no connector lines between the last session of one phase and the first session of the next. This helps make phase boundaries easier to understand at a glance.
Deleting sessions
A playbook must always contain at least one session.
This means:
- Sessions can be deleted normally.
- Empty phases are allowed.
- The final remaining session in a playbook cannot be deleted.
If you need a completely fresh start, create a new template instead.
Walkthrough
-
1
Add a session
Click the
+button at the end of a phase. -
2
Insert a session
Hover between two sessions and use the insert control.
-
3
Switch to sticky-note view
Use the session controls to change the visual presentation.
-
4
Open session settings
Click a session to open its properties panel and configure details such as duration, pre-work, and agenda.
-
5
Delete a session
Try removing a session and observe how the remaining sessions close the gap automatically.
Tips
Use sticky notes for exploration. They're ideal when you're working out the flow before committing to detailed session design.
Think carefully before reordering sessions. Changes to session order can significantly alter the participant experience.
Use phase boundaries intentionally. A new phase should usually signal a meaningful shift in focus, activity, or outcome.