Standard operating procedures require experienced authors, testers and reviewers to create.
Standard operating procedures, or SOPs, are formal written guidelines that denote daily operational procedures, assist in long-range planning and provide instructions for incident responses. While the exact layout and purpose of an SOP document varies somewhat from industry to industry, all SOPs share some traits in common. They have both operational and technical components, and they are essential to the development and deployment of solutions, as well as daily operations.
Sections
The introduction section of a SOP should describe the recognized need for procedures and provide a list of departments, agencies or other parties who share the procedures. The next section covers the purpose of the SOP document, clarifying the principal objective of the company, department or agency to which the document applies. The purpose section also covers the agency's authority, use of resources and responsibilities. Another section covers scope, which lays out the departments or jurisdictions to which the SOP document applies. Additional sections, which are specific to the SOP's respective application, may include visual aids, command hierarchies, objectives, procedures, materials and equipment and documentation requirements.
Format
The header of the SOP typically contains the document's title, number and version. The author's name, page number, and creation and approval dates for the document are printed in the footer. Page margins, font type and size, orientation of graphics and other formatting concerns are not standardized. The authors or designers may choose the design and style that best suits the SOP's industry or specific application, or they may design the document according to their own aesthetic tastes.
Authors
A knowledgeable individual with experience in the organization authors each section. The author should write only the sections to which her experience is relevant. Because SOPs contain many sections, they are commonly created by multiple authors. Each author acts as a subject-matter expert who actually performs the work or processes she documents within the SOP, and her working knowledge serves to provide practical and concise instructions.
Target Readers
A SOP document targets a specific reader. The reader has a basic understanding of the department, agency or industry to which the SOP applies, but his experience may be limited. The SOP therefore provides sufficient detail for a person with limited experience to successfully reproduce the procedures in the SOP without help or supervision. Include the experience requirement for performing each activity at the beginning of each procedure. List experience levels such as "basic", "intermediate" and "advanced," or provide a list of prerequisites for each procedure listed in the SOP document.
Review, Approval and Revision
Experienced reviewers, who did not author the document, review the SOP for clarity and ease of execution. The review process may also include testing to ensure that each procedure in the SOP works as expected. After review and testing, an immediate supervisor, such as a branch chief or quality assurance officer, approves the SOP for distribution and use. Whenever procedures, materials or available technologies change, authors should review and revise the SOP to ensure that it remains current and applicable. The agency should also conduct periodic reviews every one or two years to ensure that the SOP is current and applicable to modern needs and available resources.
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