SOP

Standard Operating Procedure

An SOP is the written, step-by-step description of how a recurring task is carried out in a business. It lets another person, or an automation, produce the same result without depending on whoever usually did it. It is the basic unit of a business that can be delegated.

A useful SOP is written while performing the task, not afterwards from memory, and includes what typically goes wrong and how ambiguous cases are decided. The test is simple: if an outsider follows it and gets the same result without asking anything, it is well written.

Also called: operating procedure, process documentation, playbook

Related terms

Async documentationAsync documentation is the body of writing that lets a distributed team decide and progress without overlapping in time. It captures the decision and the reasoning behind it, not just the conclusion, so someone arriving months later understands why it was done that way.
No-code automationNo-code automation means connecting applications through visual workflows without writing code. It lets an action in one tool trigger tasks in others: a submitted form creates a record, notifies the team and schedules a reminder with no human involvement.
Productised offerA productised offer is a service sold with fixed scope, defined timeline and fixed price, as if it were a product. It removes case-by-case negotiation and bespoke quoting, which shortens the sales cycle and makes both delivery and margin predictable.