Writing standard operating procedures is a small number of decisions followed by a small amount of typing. The decisions are the task boundary, the roles, the systems, the decision points and the records; the typing is one action per numbered step in the order the work happens. Most bad procedures skipped the decisions and started typing, which is why they are the length of an afternoon and read two ways by two people. The standard operating procedure template on this site sizes the document from the decisions before a word is written.
Walk the task before writing it
The procedure is written from a walkthrough with the person who does the task best, not from memory at a desk. Watching the task once produces the step list, the systems and forms actually used, and the points where the person stops to decide; each of those becomes a step. A procedure written without the walkthrough describes how the writer thinks the task goes.
Size it, then write it
Steps, roles, decision points and systems go into the template first, and it prints the sections, the reading time, the run time and the training minutes across the team. If the reading time is close to the run time, the procedure is too long for its task and the fix is a split, decided before the writing rather than after.
One action per step, role first
Each step is one thing one role does, the role named first, the system and form named exactly. The packer checks the order is one step; prints the label is another. Decision points are steps of their own saying where to go next. The steps that produce a record, the dispatch note or the sign-off, say so, because those are the steps the checklist and the auditor read.
Approve, train, review
A procedure has authority because an accountable person signed the version; the people who do the task sign that they read it; and a review date on the cover page keeps it current. Those three records are what a customer or auditor asks for. Keeping them with the procedure, and reminding the owner when the review is due, is what RunbookDesk Pro is for.
Questions people ask about writing standard operating procedures
How long should writing an SOP take?
The walkthrough is the bulk of it; an hour with the person who does the task usually yields the whole step list. The typing is shorter than the walkthrough when the design was done first.
Who should write it?
The process owner, from the walkthrough, with the person who does the task reading every draft. The doer writing alone documents habits; the owner writing alone documents intentions.
What does the free tool do?
The standard operating procedure template prints the sections, the times and the training load from your figures with no account; the paid product keeps the versions, sign-offs and review dates.