Sop 5
Sop 5
Sop 5
For example, let's say you need to create an SOP for people who
produce release notes. The SOP could include:
Define what the end result or the goal is for the SOP you are writing.
For example, if you are writing a document that describes the
procedures for closing a restaurant each night, the goal is to secure
the building until the prep crew arrives in the morning.
This step does not include details such as cleaning floors or arming
alarm systems. You simply want to identify what the procedure will
accomplish.
Chances are that your company already has some SOP documents that
have been written for other procedures in the past. Refer to those
documents as templates for preferred formatting guidelines.
Get the team together and ask them how they think the job should be
performed. These are the people who you are going to ask to adhere
to the SOP, so you want to be sure that it makes sense to them and
that all the necessary tasks are included.
It’s possible that the SOP you are working on is dependent on other
SOPs and teams in other departments in order to be completed
successfully. Determine whether it is sufficient to reference those other
procedures or if you need to add them to the current standard
operating procedure document. Consideer using a flowchart or a map
to clearly define dependencies and responsible parties.
Knowing your audience helps you determine how you should write
your SOP document. Consider these questions:
• What is their prior knowledge? Are they already familiar with the
organization and the procedures? Do they already know the
terminology? Have they become complacent and need a
refresher? You need to write to your audience’s knowledge
level. Too basic and you'll waste their time on information they
already know. Too complicated, and you’ll confuse them—and
risk mistakes when they try to implement the SOP.
• What are their language skills? Maybe your audience does not
natively speak your language. If that is the case, you may want
to use more pictures than words.
• Arethey new employees? When bringing on new employees,
your SOP documents need to be very detailed and training-
oriented. You want to ensure consistent outcomes regardless
of who is performing a task.
• What is the size of your audience? Will multiple people in
different roles across multiple organizations be reading the
document? If so, write the procedures in a way that clearly
defines who, or what role, performs each task. This helps your
audience understand where they each fit into the process and
why their particular part is important.
You only need a table of contents if the document is very large with
many pages. The table of contents allows easy access to specific areas
of the document.
The specific procedures
This is the bulk of the document and includes the specific step-by-step
procedures that need to be followed in order to successfully comply
with company standards and safety regulations. This section could also
include:
•A description of the scope and purpose of the SOP, its limits, and
how it’s used. You can include standards, regulatory
requirements, roles and responsibilities, and inputs and
outputs.
• Necessary and additional details that are needed to complete
each step. Discuss decisions that need to be made, possible
blockers, safety considerations, and any other “what if”
scenarios that may arise.
• Clarification
of terminology, including acronyms and phrases that
may not be familiar to your audience.
• Health and safety warnings. These warnings should be listed in a
separate section, and they should accompany applicable steps
within the process.
•A complete list of all equipment and supplies that are needed,
where to find them, and when each will be needed.
•A troubleshooting section to cover things that can go wrong,
what types of things the reader should look for, and what may
interfere with the final outcome.
You should review the SOP every six to twelve months or as necessary
to identify areas where it can be improved and to reflect any changes
that have been made to current procedures.