A process document template holds the shape of a document that describes how a process actually runs: what triggers it, the steps in the order they happen, the role and the system at each step, the exceptions that most often break it and what it produces at the end. The process documentation template on this site costs the writing of a set of them and prints the payback; this page is the shape each one takes.
Trigger and outcome frame it
A process starts when something happens and ends when something exists: an order arrives and a shipment leaves, a candidate accepts and a starter is on payroll. Writing the trigger and the outcome first is what stops the document wandering into the neighbouring process.
Steps in the order they happen, with the role and the system
Not in the order of the org chart. Each step names the role that does it and the system it happens in, because the new person following it needs to know where to click, and because a system change is then a list of steps to revisit. A step a paragraph; the template estimates the pages from that.
Exceptions are the useful part
The line is out of stock, the invoice does not match, the candidate fails the check: the exceptions are what an experienced person knows and a new one does not. Two or three per process, written as what to do rather than what went wrong, are what make the document worth more than a diagram.
Cost the set and read the payback
Eight processes at three writing hours and one review hour each, against a hundred and twenty runs a month saving six minutes, is a payback in months the template prints from your figures. Write the processes with the shortest payback first.
Questions people ask about process document template
Is there a free process document template?
The process documentation template on this site costs a documentation set and prints its payback free with no account. The written documents, saved against each process with sign-offs, are the paid product.
How is a process document different from an SOP?
The process document describes how the process runs across roles; the SOP tells one role how to do its part step by step. Most businesses need both.
How long should a process document be?
A step a paragraph, with the exceptions. The template estimates the pages from your steps so the length is a figure before the writing starts.