Five Tips For Selecting A Procedures Writing Methodology

If you need to write procedures for your organization, you may be tempted to start writing immediately, especially if the project is complex. Wait! Take time up front to select a methodology for your procedures writing. The right methodology can simplify a policies and procedures project and ensure a more useful and maintainable end product. As consultants with over 10 years of experience in writing procedures and creating procedures manuals, we have learned what makes a procedures writing methodology efficient and effective. Here are our top five tips for selecting a methodology for writing procedures.
Tip 1: The Right Methodology Helps You See the Big Picture
The right methodology helps you identify and understand at a high level the processes you need to document. Once you have a high-level understanding of processes, you can build a framework for your project and identify the steps needed to fill in the framework. Then, you will have an easier time planning your schedule and estimating time and resource requirements.
Tip 2: Changes Happen – A Good Methodology Simplifies Updates
Changes are inevitable in any organization, especially complex organizations. If you are going through the effort to write procedures, you will want to make sure that those procedures can be updated easily as changes occur in your organization. A methodology that simplifies change management is critical. We have found that organizing procedures by process is a very effective way to simplify change management. In general, high-level processes do not change as quickly as their implementation does (i.e., the procedures). For this reason, if you organize your manual by process, most updates should not require major reorganization of the manual. When reviewing methodologies, be sure to consider how a particular methodology would simplify or complicate updates.
Tip 3: The Right Methodology Helps Everyone Get on the Same Page
One often-overlooked benefit of a good procedures writing methodology is that it can promote standardization of procedures. If multiple groups have many of the same processes, then a methodology that focuses on high-level processes for organization can encourage re-use of procedures. Also, a methodology that promotes verification of procedures with interface groups can uncover gaps in understanding and prompt discussion of best practices, leading to standardization of practices.
Tip 4: Prepare for Company Growth with Scalable Procedures
To get the most leverage from your procedures, you will want to choose a methodology that produces scalable procedures documentation. Organizing by process leads to scalable documentation, because the day-to-day implementation of processes may change, but the actual high-level processes of a group or organization do not change very often. If you organize your procedures manual by process, you can easily add or remove procedures as needed without substantially changing the organization of the manual. Also, if new groups are added to the organization that have some of the same processes as other groups, existing procedures may be used as starting points for the procedures for these new groups.
Tip 5: Choose a Practical Methodology to Hit the Ground Running
If a methodology is confusing or takes too much ramp-up time to begin using, it won’t be effective. At best, you will be discouraged; at worst, your project might stall. When you have a complex project to tackle, you don’t have the time or inclination to wade through pages of theory. You need practical suggestions you can use right away that will make your job easier. Choose a methodology that makes sense to you, helps you get up and running quickly, and simplifies your procedures writing project.
Conclusion
The right methodology for a procedures writing project can simplify your project, result in a more useful and maintainable policies and procedures manual, and lead to additional benefits, such as scalability and standardization. Use our five tips to help you choose the right methodology for your project.