How to write a procedure comes down to seven decisions, and once they are made the writing is a single sitting. Fix the boundary, from what trigger to what finished state. Name the roles. Watch the task done once. Write one action per numbered step, role first, system and form named. Make each decision its own step. Say which steps leave a record. Sign it, date it and set the review. The standard operating procedure template on this site prints the document's size from those decisions before the sitting starts.
Boundary and roles
A procedure covers one task from a trigger to an end state, and naming both in a sentence is the first decision. The roles are the positions that appear in the steps, named by role so the document outlives the people. A procedure with an unclear end state never finishes, and one that names people rather than roles is rewritten every time somebody leaves.
Watch it, then write it
The step list comes from watching the task done by the person who does it best, because memory drops the steps that have become habit. The walkthrough also produces the systems and forms actually used and the points where the doer stops to decide; each becomes a step. Those counts go into the template, which prints the reading time and the training minutes across the team.
One action per step
Each numbered step is one thing one role does. Check the order and print the label is two steps, and writing it as two is what lets the procedure be followed with a finger on the page. Decision points are steps of their own saying where to go next. Steps that produce a record, the note or the sign-off, say so, because those become the checklist.
Sign, date, review
The version is signed by the approver, the doers sign that they read it, and the review date is on the cover. A procedure with no review date decays into a description of how the task used to be done. RunbookDesk Pro keeps those records and reminds the owner when the review is due.
Questions people ask about how to write a procedure
How do I know the procedure is finished?
Hand it to someone who has never done the task. Every place they stop is a rewrite; when they reach the end state, it is finished.
How long should a procedure be?
As long as the task has actions, one per step. When it passes twenty or so, it is usually two procedures with a hand-off between them.
Is there a free template?
Yes: the standard operating procedure template sizes the document from your decisions, and the example builder prints a worked one, both without an account.