SOP writing is a different craft from writing a memo, because the reader is doing something while reading it. One action per step, the role that does it named first, the exact system and the exact form, the decision points as their own steps, and no adjectives. The standard operating procedure template on this site sizes the procedure and prints the reading time; these are the rules for the words inside the sections.
One action per step, role first
A step that says the packer checks the order and prints the label is two steps. Write it as two, each starting with the role, each verifiable on its own. A procedure written this way can be followed with a finger on the page and audited against the record it produces.
Name the system and the form
Not the accounting system but the name of it; not the form but its number. The specificity is the value: it is what a new person needs and what a system change later turns into a list of steps to revisit. Vague procedures are the ones people stop reading.
Decision points are steps, not clauses
If the invoice does not match, escalate, tucked into the middle of a step, is the line that gets read two ways. Make it a numbered step: if this, go to step twelve; otherwise, step seven. The template adds a section per decision point so the branches are findable.
Check the length against the reading time
A twelve-step procedure that takes eighteen minutes to read is one that will be skimmed on the day. The tool prints the reading time from the steps, the roles and the systems; if it approaches the run time, the procedure is too long for its task.
Questions people ask about sop writing
Who should write an SOP?
The process owner, from a walkthrough with the person who does the task best, reviewed by someone who does it and approved by the person accountable.
Present tense or imperative?
Imperative, role first: the packer prints the label. It reads as an instruction, which is what it is.
How do I know the writing is good enough?
Hand it to someone who has never done the task and watch them do it from the page. Every place they stop is a rewrite.