SOP template
Fill this in while doing the task, not afterwards from memory.
The two lines that make it useful
Done means, and the step people get wrong. Most written procedures describe actions and leave the finish line implied, which is exactly where quality varies between people. Naming the step that goes wrong does more for consistency than the rest of the document, and it is the first thing left out when somebody writes to be complete rather than useful.
The template
TASK: [what this is] WHO DOES IT: [role, not a person's name] WHEN: [trigger — a day, an event, a threshold] DONE MEANS: - [what has been checked] - [what has been recorded] - [what the customer has received] STEPS: 1. [step] 2. [step] 3. [step] THE STEP PEOPLE GET WRONG: [the one that goes wrong, and what happens if it is skipped] IF SOMETHING IS UNUSUAL: [who decides] LAST CORRECTED: [date]