The SOP procedure is the section that does the work: the numbered steps between the setup sections and the records. Everything else in the document exists to make this section trustworthy. One action per step, the role that does it first, the exact system and form named, decision points as their own steps that say where to go next, and the step that produces a record saying so. The standard operating procedure template on this site sizes the section from your steps; this page is how it is written.
One action, one step, one role
A step is one thing one role does, verifiable on its own. The packer checks the order and prints the label is two steps. Writing it as two is what lets the procedure be followed with a finger on the page and audited against the record it leaves.
Name the system and the form
The step happens in a named system with a named form, not in the accounting product with the usual form. The specificity is what a new person needs, and what turns a system change into a list of steps to revisit rather than a re-read of everything.
Decision points are steps
If this, go to step twelve; otherwise step seven. A decision as its own numbered step is findable and unambiguous; the same decision as a clause in the middle of a step is the line two people read two ways. The template adds a section per decision point for that reason.
Say which steps leave a record
The step that produces the dispatch note, the sign-off or the log entry says so, because those are the steps the checklist records and the auditor reads. A procedure section that never says what it produces is one whose runs cannot be evidenced.
Questions people ask about sop procedure
How many steps should a procedure section have?
As many as the task has actions, one per step. When it passes twenty or so, it is usually two procedures.
Should sub-steps be used?
Lettered under the step they belong to, for actions that only make sense inside that step. A sub-step that stands alone is a step.
How do I check the procedure section works?
Hand it to someone who has never done the task. Every stop is a rewrite; the reading time the tool prints is the check on length.