A step by step process template is a procedure template with the hand-offs made visible. A process crosses roles, so the template has to show where the work moves from one person to the next, because the hand-off is where a process most often stalls. The process documentation template on this site sizes the document from the steps, roles, hand-offs and decision points, and prints the pages, the reading time and the number of hand-offs the process carries.
Trigger and end state
The process starts at a trigger, an order arriving or a month ending, and finishes at a stated end state. Both are written as a sentence at the top. A process whose end state is not stated is one nobody can say is complete, and a process with two triggers is two processes.
Steps with the role and the hand-off
Each numbered step names the role that does it, in the order the work happens. Where the next step belongs to a different role, the hand-off is marked: what is passed, how, and what tells the receiver it has arrived. Counting those hand-offs is the first measure of how fragile a process is.
Decision points as steps
Every point where the next step depends on what was found is its own numbered step that says where to go for each outcome. Stock short, invoice missing, address fails: each is a step. Written as a clause inside another step, it is the line that two people read two ways.
Records at each step that leaves one
The steps that produce evidence, the pick list, the reconciliation, the sign-off, say so. Those steps become the checklist and the checklist becomes the record. The template prints how many runs a period the process makes, which is the volume of records it produces and the size of what the paid product keeps.
Questions people ask about step by step process template
How is this different from an SOP template?
An SOP covers one task, often one role. A process template crosses roles and makes the hand-offs explicit; the steps within each role are written the same way.
Should I use a swimlane diagram?
For a process with many hand-offs it helps to see the roles as lanes. It is a view of the steps, not a replacement for the numbered list.
Is the template free?
Yes: the process documentation template sizes the document with no account. Keeping the finished process with its versions is the paid product.