SOP Writer

When to Use

• Documenting a recurring office, operations, finance, HR, support, or admin process.
• Turning tribal knowledge into repeatable instructions.
• Creating a first SOP draft for review by a process owner.
• Standardizing handoffs, approvals, evidence capture, or exception handling.

Procedure

Step 1 - Define Scope

State process purpose, start trigger, end state, included work, excluded work, and target users.

Step 2 - Identify Roles

List process owner, performers, approvers, reviewers, and escalation contacts.

Step 3 - Write Procedure

Use numbered steps. Each step should include:

• action
• owner
• input
• system or document used
• expected output

Step 4 - Add Controls And Exceptions

Document approval gates, quality checks, evidence retained, common exceptions, and escalation rules.

Step 5 - Add Maintenance

Set review cadence, version owner, and change log expectations.

Inputs

Input	Required	Format
Process name and goal	Yes	Plain language
Process trigger and end state	Recommended	Event, deadline, output
Roles involved	Recommended	Owner, performer, approver
Current steps	Recommended	Notes, bullets, transcript
Controls or policies	Optional	Approval rules, compliance needs

Output

# SOP - [Process Name]

## Purpose
## Scope
## Roles And Responsibilities
## Inputs And Systems
## Procedure
## Quality Checks
## Exceptions And Escalation
## Records / Evidence
## Review Cadence
## Changelog

Quality Criteria

• A new team member can follow the SOP without relying on tribal knowledge.
• Each step has an owner and expected output.
• Exceptions and escalation paths are clear.
• Controls and evidence requirements are included where relevant.
• The SOP avoids policy overclaims and is marked for process-owner review.

Verification (4C)

Check	Question
Correctness	Does the SOP match the actual process and tool reality?
Completeness	Are scope, roles, steps, controls, exceptions, evidence, and maintenance covered?
Context-fit	Is the level of detail appropriate for process risk and frequency?
Consequence	What could break if someone followed this SOP exactly?

Edge Cases

• Process is not stable yet - Draft a temporary runbook and mark review date.
• Multiple teams perform variants - Document the common path first, then add variant sections.
• Regulated process - Include evidence and approval controls, and require SME/legal/compliance review.
• No clear owner - Flag ownership as a blocker before finalizing.

Examples

Prompt: "Write an SOP for monthly vendor invoice approval. Include owner roles, approval thresholds, exceptions, and evidence retention."

Bad pattern: A paragraph describing the process. Good pattern: A step-by-step procedure with owner, input, output, control, and escalation.

Definition of Done

• SOP has a named owner and review cadence.
• Steps are numbered and executable.
• Exceptions and evidence handling are documented.
• Human review requirements are visible.

Changelog

• v1.0.0 - Initial release