Guidelines for Writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
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Written Standard Operating Procedures provide workers with the operational
information necessary to perform a job properly and ensure consistency in the
operations. Standard Operating Procedures provide a historical record of steps in
the how, why and when and serve as a training tool for teaching users.
How to write your research site’s Standard Operating Procedures:
• Begin by identifying a purpose or a mission statement.
Identifying the purpose of your SOP’s will help to focus your energy and
set limitations on the necessary content.
• Create an outline of what is actually done on a day to day basis. The
individual(s) actually performing the task on a regular basis may be the
person(s) best qualified to write that SOP.
• After an outline of the SOP content has been developed, the structure of
the SOPs must be developed. It is important to design your SOPs to
achieve specific results.
Possible design options:
Simple steps
Hierarchical steps
Graphic procedures
SOPs require establishment of procedure codes and topics. It is important
to use words such as “will” or “shall” to describe procedural steps. It is
best to avoid words such as “should,” “could,” and “may.” These words
convey a since of option. SOPs are not optional.
• A first draft should then be written and distributed for internal review. Any
necessary modifications to procedures can be at this time. This will aid in
creating a since of ownership of the document and encourage workers to
follow the procedures.
• The final version of the SOPs should then be distributed for external
review and tested in practice.
• The SOPs must then be signed for approval and posted. All employees
should be trained on the SOPs. This training should be documented.
• The SOPs will be reviewed annually or as needed. Amended SOPs will be
distributed to the users and old versions will be destroyed. Archival copies