# Write a standard operating procedure: scoring guide

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.

## How to use it

1. Run the template on your own material, or take an answer you already have.
2. For each criterion below, read the answer against the two lines and tick one: meets or does not meet. Quote what you saw.
3. A criterion marked "checked by you" is yours to mark. An AI cannot meet it for you.
4. Count the ticks for meets, out of 11. Fix the first criterion that is not met and run the guide again.

## The guide

### 1. Every action is quoted word for word from your notes

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: Every action in the table is found word for word in your notes.
- Does not meet: An action has been reworded, or is not in the notes.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 2. Each gap is one of the six allowed words

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: Every row has exactly one of the six allowed words in the Gap column.
- Does not meet: A row has another word, or the Gap cell is empty.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 3. Every step has an action and a sign of success, or the words that say none is stated

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: Every step in the table has an action and either a sign of success or the words Not stated, ask the owner.
- Does not meet: A step has an empty Action or How to Tell It Worked cell.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 4. Each count is one of the two allowed phrases

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: Every row has one action or more than one action in the Count column.
- Does not meet: A row has another word, or the Count cell is empty.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 5. The reminder to test it with a newcomer is in the final text

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: The final text includes the line Have someone who has never done this task follow it, and fix any step where they stumble.
- Does not meet: The line is missing, or it has been replaced by a claim that the procedure is ready to use.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 6. Every gap row quotes an action from your notes

A plain rule you can check by eye.

- Meets: Every action in the gaps table is found word for word in your notes.
- Does not meet: A gap row quotes an action that has been reworded or is not in your notes.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 7. No tool, place, person or number appears that your notes do not have

Checked by a second AI prompt.

- Meets: Every tool, place, person and number in the draft is also in your notes, apart from the step numbers.
- Does not meet: The draft has a tool, place, person or number your notes do not have.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 8. Every gap is marked and none is filled in

Checked by a second AI prompt.

- Meets: Every gap is marked [to be confirmed], Not stated or No contact stated, and none is filled in with a made-up answer.
- Does not meet: A gap has been filled in with something your notes do not give.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 9. Every step in the final text holds one action

Checked by a second AI prompt.

- Meets: Every row of the Steps table asks the reader to do one thing.
- Does not meet: A row still asks the reader to do two things.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 10. Every action from your notes is in the final steps, in the order the notes give

Checked by a second AI prompt.

- Meets: Every action from your notes is in the final steps, in the same order, with none added.
- Does not meet: An action is missing, out of order, or added that your notes do not have.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

### 11. A newcomer tries it before it is relied on

Checked by you.

- Meets: Someone who has never done the task followed the procedure on their own, the stumbling points were fixed, and the open marks were filled in.
- Does not meet: The procedure is relied on without a newcomer trying it, or with open marks still in it, so you cannot tell whether it works.
- Your mark: [ ] Meets  [ ] Does not meet
- What you saw:

## Your result

Met ___ of 11

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From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.