sop-creator

Create practical documentation that people actually follow.

Philosophy

Nobody reads 50-page docs. Make it scannable, actionable, and impossible to misunderstand.

Core principles:

• Scannable - Headers, bullets, tables. No walls of text.
• Actionable - Every step is something you DO, not something you "consider"
• Specific - Numbers, names, thresholds. No "as needed" or "when appropriate"
• Testable - Clear success criteria. How do you know it worked?
• Maintained - Owner, last updated, review schedule

SOP Categories

Pick the right format for your use case:

Tech/Engineering

| Type | When to Use | |------|-------------| | Runbook | Emergency response, incidents, on-call | | Deployment Playbook | Releases, migrations, maintenance | | Troubleshooting Guide | Debugging, diagnosis trees | | How-To Guide | One-off setup, configuration | | ADR | Architecture decisions |

Operations/Business

| Type | When to Use | |------|-------------| | Process SOP | Repeatable business workflows | | Checklist | Quality control, verification | | Decision Tree | Complex if/then scenarios | | Handoff Doc | Role transitions, shift changes |

Content/Creative

| Type | When to Use | |------|-------------| | Production Workflow | Content creation pipelines | | Review Process | Approval workflows | | Publishing Checklist | Pre-launch verification |

General

| Type | When to Use | |------|-------------| | Standard SOP | Any repeatable process | | Quick Reference | Condensed version of longer SOP | | Onboarding Guide | New person ramping up |

Universal Structure

Every SOP needs at minimum:

# [What This Does]

> **TL;DR:** One sentence - what, when, who.

## Definition of Done

This is complete when:
- [ ] [Primary outcome]
- [ ] [Verification step]
- [ ] [Any handoff/notification]

## When to Use This
[Trigger conditions]

## Prerequisites
[What you need before starting]

## The Process
[Numbered steps - the actual work]

## Verify Completion
[Return to Definition of Done, confirm all checked]

## When Things Go Wrong
[Common issues and fixes]

## Questions?
[Who to contact]

Definition of Done is the most important section. Put it near the top. Make it a checklist. Be specific.

Writing Rules

Be Specific

| Don't Write | Write Instead | |-------------|---------------| | "Contact the team" | "Message @sarah in #ops-team" | | "Wait until ready" | "Wait until status shows 'Complete' (~5 min)" | | "Review carefully" | "Check items A, B, C in the dashboard" | | "As appropriate" | "If value > 100" | | "Regularly" | "Every Monday at 9am" | | "Soon" | "Within 2 hours" |

Action-First Steps

# Bad
"The report should be reviewed before sending to ensure
accuracy and completeness of all data fields."

# Good
1. Open the report in [System]
2. Verify these fields are populated:
   - [ ] Customer name
   - [ ] Amount
   - [ ] Date
3. Click "Send"

Warnings Come First

# Bad
1. Delete the old records
   Note: This cannot be undone

# Good
> **WARNING:** This permanently deletes records. Export first if needed.

1. Delete the old records

Decision Points are Clear

# Bad
"Handle the request based on priority level"

# Good
**If priority is:**
- **Critical:** Drop everything, handle now, notify manager
- **High:** Handle within 4 hours
- **Normal:** Handle within 24 hours
- **Low:** Add to weekly batch

Format Selection Guide

Ask yourself:

1. Is this for emergencies? → Runbook
2. Is this a complex multi-phase project? → Playbook
3. Is this a simple repeated task? → Standard SOP or Checklist
4. Does it have lots of if/then branching? → Decision Tree
5. Is it for debugging? → Troubleshooting Guide
6. Is it recording a decision? → ADR
7. Is it for someone new? → Onboarding Guide

Metadata (Keep it Light)

---
title: [Clear name]
owner: [Person or team]
last_updated: [Date]
review_schedule: [quarterly/annually/as-needed]
---

That's it. No document IDs, version matrices, or approval chains unless you actually need them.

Templates

Each template is in references/:

| Template | Use For | |----------|---------| | runbook.md | Incidents, emergencies, on-call | | standard-sop.md | Any repeatable process | | how-to-guide.md | One-off tasks, setup | | onboarding-guide.md | New person ramping up | | decision-tree.md | Complex if/then flows | | checklist.md | QC, verification |

All templates have Definition of Done as the primary success criteria.

Quality Checklist

Before publishing:

• [ ] Can someone unfamiliar follow this?
• [ ] Are all steps actionable (verbs, not descriptions)?
• [ ] Are specifics provided (names, numbers, thresholds)?
• [ ] Is there a clear "done" state?
• [ ] Is the owner/contact info current?
• [ ] Has it been tested recently?

Anti-Patterns

Kill these:

• "Per company policy..." (just state what to do)
• "It is recommended that..." (just say "do X")
• "Please ensure..." (just say "check X")
• Passive voice ("the form should be submitted" → "submit the form")
• Describing what to do instead of showing it
• Walls of text with no structure
• Screenshots that will be outdated in a month

Do these:

• Start with the most common path
• Put edge cases at the bottom
• Link to related docs instead of duplicating
• Use tables for reference info
• Use checklists for verification steps
• Include "I'm stuck" escape hatches