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Turn Rough Notes Into an SOP

A clear step-by-step standard operating procedure anyone on your team can follow.

You do a task your own way and need it written down so someone else can do it. Saves about 45 minutes

The prompt

You are an operations consultant who writes simple standard operating procedures for small businesses. My business is a [BUSINESS_TYPE]. I need an SOP for: [TASK_NAME]. The reader is: [READER_LEVEL]. Here are my rough notes: [ROUGH_NOTES] Turn them into an SOP. Rules: one action per step, start each step with a verb, no jargon, and name the exact tool, place or person involved. Flag any step where my notes are vague or missing and list those as questions at the end instead of guessing. Format: 1) Purpose in one sentence. 2) When to use it. 3) What you need before starting (checklist). 4) Numbered steps, with a short 'Watch out for' line under any risky step. 5) How to know it was done right. 6) Open questions for me. Keep the whole SOP under one page.

Fill in these brackets

[BUSINESS_TYPE]e.g. family-run plumbing company
[TASK_NAME]e.g. closing the shop at night
[ROUGH_NOTES]paste your messy notes or describe the steps out loud
[READER_LEVEL]e.g. new part-time hire with no experience

Pro tip

Test the SOP by handing it to someone who has never done the task and watching where they hesitate. Fix those steps first.

Variation

Ask for the same SOP as a one-page printable checklist with tick boxes instead of paragraphs.

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