A review of the necessity and how to build standard operating procedures (SOPs) when making changes to a process.

1. Section & Lesson #:
Pre-Requisite Lessons:
Complex Tools + Clear Teaching = Powerful Results
Documenting a New Process with SOPs
Six Sigma-Control – Lesson 10
A review of the necessity and how to build standard operating procedures
(SOPs) when making changes to a process.
Six Sigma-Define #06 – Building Process Maps
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.

2. SOPs Defined
o What are Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)?
• SOPs outline the process steps in detail in accordance with business policies.
 SOPs are generally more detailed than job aides or desktop procedures.
 They often include detailed steps for troubleshooting possible contingencies.
 They often cite business policies and regulations.
 They often describe how the procedures align to and affect other business
areas and their SOPs.
 They often assume no prerequisite knowledge by the user in order to
successfully execute the procedures.
o Are SOPs required for closing a project?
• Not necessarily. It depends on the amount and complexity of changes made by the project.
• SOPs are the ideal form of documentation to ensure sustainability of the improvements.
o Who creates the SOPs?
• The Process Owner and Process SMEs should help author the SOPs.
• The entire team should validate the SOPs.
o How do you build the SOPs?
• Start with any training documentation used during the pilot and/or implementation steps.
• Ensure the format (layout) conforms to the business standards or any other existing SOPs.
• The SOPs should be tested by allowing inexperienced employees to try to follow them.
• The SOPs should document the authors, dates, and include version (revision) control.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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3. Practical Application
o Identify at least 2 critical processes in your organization.
• Are there SOPs defined for these processes?
 If so, then…
– How closely are those SOPs followed and enforced?
– Are the processes steps measured for tracking adherence to the SOPs?
– How are the SOPs enforced? (e.g., what consequences exist for anyone who doesn’t follow the SOPs?)
 If not, then…
– Why were SOPs not created?
– What problems or failure points could be mitigated if SOPs were created and enforced? How could you measure the
effects of those failure points (e.g., in lost revenue, reduced cost, etc.)?
– Is the return of greater adherence to the process steps worth the investment of building SOPs? If not, then why not?
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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