A set of instructions covering those features of operations which lend themselves to a definite or standardized procedure without loss of effectiveness.
Major Stages in the Preparation of an SOP manual is an involved task and usually involves three major stages:
- Business systems and process study by intensive interaction with process owners, managers, operatives, etc. to understand in detail the tasks that are performed.
- Preparation of the draft manual
- Finalization of the draft manual after discussion with users where any errors are corrected and process improvement recommendations are discussed and accepted or rejected.