A usable SOP has four parts: the steps in order, the decision points with their criteria, what to do when the normal path does not apply, and who owns the document. Background and rationale belong somewhere else. The audience is somebody in a hurry who needs to do the task correctly, not somebody evaluating whether the process is well designed.
When to use it
Write one when a task recurs and more than one person does it, or when a task recurs and only one person can do it. The second case is more urgent, because that is a dependency rather than an inconsistency.
Do not write one for a task that happens twice a year. By the next occurrence the document will be out of date and nobody will trust it, which is worse than working it out again.
The template
Keep it on one screen. If it does not fit, the task is probably two tasks.
SOP: [task name] Owner: [name] Last checked: [date] WHEN THIS APPLIES One line. When you would reach for this document. STEPS 1. [action] - [where] 2. [action] - [where] 3. [action] - [where] DECISIONS If [condition] -> [do this] If [condition] -> [do this] Above [value / threshold] -> ask [name] WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK [known exception] -> [what to do] Anything else -> [who to ask]
How to adapt it
- Name a real owner, not a team. An unowned document is never revised and slowly becomes misleading.
- Keep the last-checked date. A reader can weigh a procedure checked last month differently from one checked two years ago.
- The exceptions section is the reason people open it. Nobody consults an SOP for the path that is going fine.
- Say where, not just what. "Update the order" is not actionable; "update the order in Shopify admin, Orders, Fulfilments" is.
Why it is this short
Most SOPs are written for an imagined auditor rather than for the person who will actually open them, which is somebody mid-task with a customer waiting. That reader will scan for the step they are stuck on and leave.
Length is the main thing that stops that working. If the document requires scrolling to find a step, the reader asks a colleague instead, and the SOP has failed at the one thing it existed to do.
Common questions
What should an SOP include?
The steps in order, the decision points with criteria, what to do when the normal path does not apply, and a named owner with a last-checked date.
How long should an SOP be?
One screen. If it does not fit on one, it is usually two procedures that have been written as one.
Why do SOPs go unread?
Length and location. Written for completeness rather than use, and stored somewhere that requires remembering it exists rather than where the work happens.
Which tasks deserve an SOP?
Recurring tasks done by more than one person, and recurring tasks only one person can do. The second is more urgent, because it is a dependency on a person.