5 Things You Must Know Before Writing a Procedure

One of the biggest reasons most corporate procedures collect dust and don’t get used is that people sit down and just start writing without taking the time to carefully think it through. If your goal is writing policies and procedures that get read and used—and avoid writing bad procedures—follow these tips.

Before you write a word, make sure you really understand the task and the reason you are writing about it.

Here’s a checklist of 5 things you must know before you write a procedure:

• The Business Goal — Why is this task important to your company or department?
• The Expected Result— What will happen if the task is done correctly?
• The ACTIONs to Perform—How exactly is the task done step by step?
• Dangers/Cautions— What are the dangers involved in performing this task? What precautions should people take?
• Common Mistakes— What are the typical mistakes people make when performing this task? How do you correct them?

Comprose Zavanta software is designed specifically to help authors “think through” a task so they can capture the right information using a series of input screens called a Content Overlay.

Additional Resources

• 11 Key Elements to Writing Good Work Procedures
• 9 Proven Tips to Improve Policy Management
• Difference Between Policy, Procedure, Work Instructions