Standard Operating Procedure Writer

SOP Writer Skill

Produces formal, audit-ready SOPs suitable for regulated industries, ISO certification, or operational scaling.

Required Inputs

• SOP title (e.g. "SOP-001: New Client Onboarding")
• Department / function
• Process description
• Regulatory or quality standard (ISO 9001, GMP, CQC, FCA, etc.)
• Roles involved
• Tools or equipment used

Output Structure

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[COMPANY NAME] — Standard Operating Procedure

Document ID	[SOP-XXX]
Title	[Title]
Department	[Department]
Version	1.0
Effective date	[Date]
Review date	[Date]
Status	Draft / Under review / Approved

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1. Purpose

[1-2 sentences. Why does this SOP exist?]

2. Scope

Applies to: [Roles, departments, locations] Does not apply to: [Explicit exclusions]

3. Definitions

Term	Definition
[Term]	[Plain English definition]

4. Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
[Role]	[Specific responsibility]

5. Required Materials / Tools / Access

• [Item]

6. Procedure

Step	Action	Responsible	Record/Output
6.1.1	[Imperative action: "Open [system] and navigate to [location]"]	[Role]	[What to record]

NOTE: Steps must be written in imperative form. Each step must have one action only.

7. Quality Checks

Check point	What to verify	Pass criteria	If fail
[After step X]	[What to check]	[What good looks like]	[What to do]

8. Non-Conformance

1. [Immediate action]
2. [Who to notify]
3. [How to document deviation]

9. References

[Related SOPs, policies, standards]

10. Document History

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	[Date]	[Name]	Initial release

Quality Checks

• All steps written in imperative form ("Open...", "Navigate...", "Confirm...")
• Each step has exactly one action
• Role specified for every step
• Quality checkpoints at critical stages
• Non-conformance process defines who to notify and how to document
• Document history table and review date are included

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write an SOP for [process]"
• "Create a standard operating procedure for [task]"
• "Write a work instruction for [process]"

Anti-Patterns

• Do not write steps that contain more than one action — each step must be a single, auditable action in imperative form
• Do not omit a role from any step — every action must be assigned to a specific role or the SOP cannot be enforced
• Do not skip the non-conformance section — an SOP without a deviation process cannot meet audit or regulatory requirements
• Do not produce an SOP without a review date and version history — undated documents cannot be relied upon for compliance
• Do not use passive voice in procedure steps — write "Open the system" not "The system should be opened"