SOP template

When to use

• Shelf: build/sops/<topic>/
• kind: sop
• Diátaxis mode: how-to + policy (approved standard, not ad-hoc ops)
• Readers served: teams needing role clarity and audit evidence; agents distinguishing policy from one-off runbooks

Design rationale

• Purpose states controlled risk — SOPs exist to prevent repeat failures, not to teach tools (ISO 9001 documented procedures — purpose/scope concept).
• Scope & roles table — ambiguity causes audit failures; roles must be explicit (Good Docs process documentation).
• Evidence / records section — SOPs differ from runbooks by requiring retained proof (quality management — records).
• Numbered procedure with evidence per step — each step names what to file/store (procedure documentation best practice).
• Canonical execution links — SOP points to runbook/playbook without duplicating commands (Diátaxis — one concern per doc).

Copy-paste skeleton

---
title: "SOP title"
description: One sentence — what this standard procedure governs.
sidebar:
  label: "SOP title"
  order: N
category: <topic>
kind: sop
status: current
tags: [sop, topic]
---

## Purpose

Why this SOP exists and what risk it controls.

## Scope & roles

| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| … | … |

**Applies to:** &lt;systems, envs, teams&gt;
**Out of scope:** &lt;explicit exclusions&gt;

## Procedure

1. **&lt;Step&gt;** — &lt;required action&gt;. Evidence: &lt;log, ticket, screenshot&gt;
2. …

## Evidence / records

What must be retained (ticket ID, backup path, sign-off).

## Checklist

- [ ] &lt;required verification&gt;
- [ ] &lt;audit trail captured&gt;

:::note[Canonical execution]
Day-to-day commands: [Runbook](/tech-stack/laravel/codecanyon/build/runbooks/code-test-ship/) · Teaching journey: [Playbook](/tech-stack/laravel/codecanyon/build/playbooks/setup-new/)
:::

Anti-patterns

• Do not duplicate full runbook command blocks — link instead.
• Do not ship SOP without roles table when multiple actors involved.
• Do not use playbook :::next on standalone SOPs.

Worked example

• No leaf SOP published yet — SOPs hub (stub). Procedural peel: Code → test → ship runbook

Sources

• Good Docs Project — Templates — process and procedure doc patterns.
• ISO 9001:2015 — Quality management systems — purpose, scope, documented procedures, records (conceptual alignment).
• Google developer documentation style guide — Procedures — numbered steps with clear outcomes.
• Diátaxis — How-to guides — SOP as governed how-to vs tutorial.
• Writing style → Doc-type spines