Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
An SOP structure someone can actually follow under pressure — numbered steps, decision points, what to do when it goes wrong, and a named owner with a review date.
No sign-up. No email. Markdown — edit it in anything.
When to use it
Any process performed more than a few times, or performed rarely but critically.
Who fills it in
The person who does the work, reviewed by their manager.
Works alongside: Incident Report · Release Checklist
The template
Instruction lines are marked with > — delete them
once the document is filled in.
| SOP ID | |
| Version | 1.0 |
| Owner | _______________ (named person, not a team) |
| Approved by | |
| Effective date | |
| Review date | _______________ (an SOP without one becomes wrong quietly) |
1. Purpose#
One or two sentences. What this procedure achieves and why it exists.
2. When to use this#
Trigger:
Do NOT use this when:
3. Who performs this#
| Role | Responsibility | Authority required |
|---|---|---|
Skills or access needed before starting:
4. Before you start#
- [ ] Access to: _______________
- [ ] Tools / systems open: _______________
- [ ] Information to hand: _______________
- [ ] Approval obtained from: _______________ (if applicable)
Estimated time: _______________
5. Procedure#
Numbered, imperative, one action per step. Write for someone competent but unfamiliar — the person doing this at 2am is not the person who wrote it.
Step 1.
- Expected result:
Step 2.
- Expected result:
Step 3.
- Expected result:
Decision point#
Where the procedure branches, make it explicit.
If _______________ then go to step ___ If _______________ then go to step ___
6. Verification#
How the person knows they succeeded. Not "it should work" — a specific check.
- [ ]
- [ ]
7. When it goes wrong#
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Stop and escalate if:
Be explicit. The most expensive incidents involve someone continuing when they should have stopped.
Escalate to: _______________ Via: _______________
8. Rollback#
If this procedure changes something, how is it undone?
9. Records#
| What is recorded | Where | Retained for |
|---|---|---|
10. Related documents#
-
Change log#
| Version | Date | Change | Author | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Initial |