# Write a standard operating procedure: prompt chain Turn your rough notes on how a task is done into numbered steps a newcomer can follow, with one action in each step, a check on each key step, what to do when something goes wrong, an owner and a review date. **Made for:** Anyone who has to document how work is done, such as an office manager, a team lead, an operations coordinator, a shop supervisor or a person training a new hire. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **Your notes on how the task is done** (required): Paste what you know, in any order. Say who does the task, when, what they use, and what they do. Include what goes wrong and who to ask, if you know. Do not paste passwords, access codes or keys. - **Who owns it and when to review it** (optional): Name the role that keeps this procedure up to date, and when it should be looked at again, if you know. If you do not know, write the words Not decided yet. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: List every action Pick out each action from the notes, quoted word for word, so the rest of the work has a fixed list to build on. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced operations writer who turns rough notes into procedures. Your task is to list every action in the notes below. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on how the task is done] Rules: - An action is something the person doing the task does, such as counting the drawer or locking the safe. Do not list the time, the place or the reasons as actions. - Quote each action from the notes word for word, as short as you can. Do not correct it and do not reword it. - One row for each separate action, in the order the notes give them. If one sentence holds two actions, give each its own row. Do not add an action the notes do not have. - Do not add actions that tasks like this one usually have. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Action (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of the actions, each quoted from your notes. **Check after Step 1: Every action is quoted word for word from your notes** Check by eye: Each quote in the Action (quote) column appears in the your notes on how the task is done, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Find what a newcomer would be missing Test each action as a new person would, and list what is missing, such as a tool, a place, a sign that it worked, or someone to ask. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a trainer who reads a procedure as someone doing the task for the first time. Your task is to test each action below and say what a newcomer would still need to know. The actions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List every action)] The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on how the task is done] Rules: - One row for each action, in the same order. Copy the action quote from the table above. - Gap must be exactly one of: tool or access, where to find it, how to tell it worked, who to ask, order unclear, none. - Use none only when the notes already give what a newcomer needs. Use tool or access when the action needs an item, a login or a permission the notes do not name. Use where to find it when a place or an item is not located. Use how to tell it worked when a key step has no sign of success. Use who to ask when a problem could happen and no one is named. Use order unclear when the notes do not show what comes before or after. - In the Question column, write the one question a newcomer would ask. For a row marked none, write none. - Do not answer the question. Do not invent a tool, a place, a person or a number. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Action (quote) | Gap | Question | ```` **You get back:** A table of gaps, one row for each action, each with the question a newcomer would ask. **Check after Step 2: Each gap is one of the six allowed words** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "tool or access", "where to find it", "how to tell it worked", "who to ask", "order unclear" or "none" in the Gap column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Draft the procedure Write the procedure from the actions and the notes only, with one action in each numbered step, and mark the gaps instead of filling them in. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced operations writer who produces plain procedures that a newcomer can follow. Your task is to write a standard operating procedure from the notes, the actions and the gaps below. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on how the task is done] Who owns it and when to review it: [PASTE HERE: Who owns it and when to review it] The actions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List every action)] The gaps: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Find what a newcomer would be missing)] Rules: - Use these headings in this order: Purpose, Applies To, Before You Start, Steps, If Something Goes Wrong, Owner, Review Date. - Under Steps, write one markdown table with the columns | Step | Action | How to Tell It Worked |. Number the steps in the Step column. Put one action in each row, start it with a verb, and use plain words. - In the How to Tell It Worked column, use only a sign that the notes give. If the notes give none, write: Not stated, ask the owner. - Use only the tools, places, people and numbers in the notes. Where a gap in the table has no answer in the notes, write [to be confirmed] in that place. Do not fill it in. - Under If Something Goes Wrong, use only what the notes say. If they name no one to ask, write: No contact stated, add one. - Under Owner and Review Date, use the text given above. If it is empty or says nothing has been decided, write: To be named for Owner, and: To be set for Review Date. - Do not write about what a good job looks like. Write only what to do. - End with exactly this line: Have someone who has never done this task follow it, and fix any step where they stumble. Return the procedure in markdown and nothing else. ```` **You get back:** A procedure with numbered steps in a table, the gaps marked, an owner, a review date and a closing reminder. **Check after Step 3: Every step has an action and a sign of success, or the words that say none is stated** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "Action" and "How to Tell It Worked" (a blank or a dash does not count). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Check each step holds one action Test each step in the draft and mark any step that holds more than one action, with wording that splits it. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an editor who checks that every step in a procedure holds exactly one action. Your task is to test each step in the draft below. The draft: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the procedure)] Rules: - One row for each step in the Steps table, in order. - Count is exactly one of: one action, more than one action. - A step is more than one action when it asks the reader to do two things, such as "count the drawer and write the total". Two words for the same act, or a detail about how to do it, is still one action. - In the Split Into column, for a step with more than one action, write the actions as separate short steps divided by a semicolon, using the draft's own words. For a step with one action, write keep. - Do not add an action and do not change a tool, a place, a person or a number. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Step Action | Count | Split Into | ```` **You get back:** A table that marks each step as one action or more, with wording that splits the long ones. **Check after Step 4: Each count is one of the two allowed phrases** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "one action" or "more than one action" in the Count column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 5: Write the final procedure Split the long steps, renumber, change nothing else, and add a count of the changes. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a copy editor who splits listed steps and changes nothing else. Your task is to write the final procedure from the draft, using the splits in the table. The draft: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the procedure)] The step checks: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Check each step holds one action)] Rules: - For each step marked more than one action, replace it with the separate steps in the Split Into column. For each step marked one action, leave it as it is. - Renumber the steps from 1 in order. Keep the table columns. - Change nothing else. Keep every other word, heading, tool, place, person and number as written, including every [to be confirmed]. Do not add an action or fill in a gap. - Start the answer with one line that begins "Changes:" and says how many steps were split and the new total number of steps. - Keep the closing line "Have someone who has never done this task follow it, and fix any step where they stumble." as the very last line. Return markdown in this form and nothing else: Changes: (the counts) (the procedure) Have someone who has never done this task follow it, and fix any step where they stumble. ```` **You get back:** The final procedure with one action in each step, and a count of the splits. **Check after Step 5: The reminder to test it with a newcomer is in the final text** Check by eye: The answer contains the text fragment "Have someone who has never done this task follow it, and fix any step where they stumble." (including inside a longer word). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: Every gap row quotes an action from your notes** Check by eye: Each quote in the Action (quote) column appears in the your notes on how the task is done, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: No tool, place, person or number appears that your notes do not have** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: No tool, place, person or number appears that your notes do not have Read the draft procedure and the notes below. List every tool, place, person, role and number in the draft that is not in the notes, apart from the step numbers in the Step column. Answer FAIL and quote each one. A [to be confirmed] mark, a Not stated phrase and the closing line are fine. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on how the task is done] The work to check (the answer from Step 3 (Draft the procedure)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the procedure)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 3: Every gap is marked and none is filled in** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every gap is marked and none is filled in Look at the table below. For every row where the Gap is not none, does the final procedure either show [to be confirmed] or say Not stated or No contact stated in the matching place, rather than a made-up answer? Answer FAIL and quote each gap that was filled in with something the notes do not give. The gaps: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Find what a newcomer would be missing)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 4: Every step in the final text holds one action** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every step in the final text holds one action Read each row of the Steps table in the final procedure. Does any row still ask the reader to do two things? Answer FAIL and quote each such row. A detail about how to do the one action is fine. The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 5: Every action from your notes is in the final steps, in the order the notes give** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every action from your notes is in the final steps, in the order the notes give Compare the actions in the table below with the Steps table in the final procedure. Is every action there, in the same order, with none added and none missing? Answer FAIL and quote each action that is missing, out of order, or added. The actions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List every action)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final procedure)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 6: A newcomer tries it before it is relied on** Ask yourself: Ask someone who has never done this task to follow the procedure on their own while you watch, and note every step where they stop or ask a question. Fix those steps. Fill in every [to be confirmed] with the real answer, name the owner, and set the review date. For a task that touches safety, money, health or the law, check it against your own rules and have the responsible person approve it. Only a person can say whether the steps match how the work is really done. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A procedure with the purpose, who it applies to, what to have ready, numbered steps, what to do if something goes wrong, an owner and a review date. - A table that shows what a newcomer would still ask for each action. - A table that shows which steps held more than one action and how they were split. ## Changing this chain - This template helps you write a clear first draft of a procedure. It does not know how your work is really done. A person who does the task must read it, and a newcomer must try it. - The AI is told not to fill gaps. Where your notes are silent, you will see [to be confirmed], Not stated or No contact stated. Fill these in yourself before anyone relies on the procedure. - Paste only notes your organization lets you put into an AI tool, and never paste passwords, access codes or keys. Leave them out and write where they are kept instead. - For a task that involves safety, health, money or legal duties, your own rules and the person responsible for them decide what the procedure must say. - To fit your own style, add a line to the draft step with the headings or the template your organization already uses, and keep them word for word. - For a long task, run the actions step first, split the list into two procedures yourself, then run the rest on each. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.