AI Writing, Procedure Writing

Tutorial 3: Refine, Update, and Manage – AI for SOP Editing

Posted on by Alan Thompson
21
Apr

This article is part of the Getting Started Guide to Prompt Engineering for SOPs. If you wish to read all of the articles, please go to the Start page here.

The Problem

You’ve written the first draft. We have something to work on. But as we know the work isn’t over. Now comes the critical phase of editing, review, and ongoing maintenance.

Manually proofreading for subtle grammatical errors, ensuring absolute consistency across long documents, tracking revisions, and updating procedures when processes change can be very tedious and error-prone, especially if you’re working with a team of contributors.

Managing multiple draft versions from different contributors, leads to confusion about which is the latest or what exactly changed.

Scenario/Context

This stage is vital to ensure the SOP is accurate, trustworthy, and stays relevant over time.

A small typo might seem minor, but in a critical procedure, it could lead to misunderstanding. Outdated SOPs are dangerous, potentially causing operational failures, compliance breaches, or safety incidents.

Furthermore, poor document management – like inconsistent file naming or difficulty tracking changes – wastes time and increases the risk of using the wrong version. As highlighted in Klariti’s guidance on document naming conventions, clear control is essential. Without efficient editing and update processes, SOPs quickly lose their value.

The Solution: Use AI as Your Technical Editor

AI can be a powerful ally in refining your drafts, identifying inconsistencies, and streamlining the update and management process. It excels at tasks requiring meticulous attention to detail and pattern recognition.

Here’s how AI can assist in this final phase:

  1. Proofreading and Grammar Check: Go beyond basic spellchecks. Ask AI to review for grammar, style, punctuation, and clarity. You can even ‘feed’ it your Style Guide.

    Persona: Act as a meticulous proofreader and editor.

    Task: Proofread the following SOP section for grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, punctuation mistakes, and clarity. Suggest improvements.

    Context:

    [Paste your SOP section here]

    The target audience is shop floor personnel. Maintain a professional but straightforward tone. Refer to general best practices in SOP writing guides like this one. 

    Format: List suggested changes or provide a revised version with tracked changes (if the AI tool supports it, otherwise ask for a list of edits).

  2. Checking for Consistency: Ask AI to scan the document (or sections) for inconsistent terminology, formatting, or phrasing.

    Persona: You are a document quality checker.

    Task: Review the following text for inconsistencies in terminology (e.g., ‘user’ vs. ‘operator’), formatting of steps (e.g., bolding action verbs), and tone.

    Context:

    [Paste the relevant SOP text here]

    Format: List all inconsistencies found with examples.

  3. Summarizing Changes Between Versions: When updating an SOP, AI can compare old and new text and summarize the changes.

    Persona: Act as a document controller.

    Task: Compare the ‘Old Version Text’ with the ‘New Version Text’ below and provide a summary of the key changes made.

    Context: Old Version Text:

    [Paste relevant section from the old SOP]

    New Version Text:

    [Paste the corresponding section from the new SOP]

    This is for the change log / revision history section.

    Format: Provide a bulleted list summarizing the substantive changes.

  4. Generating Update Suggestions: If a related process or regulation changes, you can feed that information to the AI and ask how it might impact an existing SOP. (Again, verify any compliance-related suggestions).

    Persona: You are a process improvement analyst.

    Task: Read the following new safety guideline regarding [Specific Topic, e.g., ‘handling chemical X’]. Based on this new guideline, review the attached ‘Procedure for Handling Chemical X’ SOP text and suggest potential updates needed to comply.

    Context: New Guideline:

    [Paste new guideline text]

    Existing SOP Text:

    [Paste relevant SOP section]

    Format: List suggested modifications to the SOP steps or safety warnings.

  5. Assisting with Document Control: While AI can’t manage your file system, it can help generate content for it, like suggesting standardized file names or drafting version history notes.

    Persona: You are a document management assistant following company standards.

    Task: Based on our company’s naming convention (

    [Dept]-[Process]-[Version]-[Status].docx

    , e.g., FIN-InvoiceProcessing-v1.0-Draft.docx), suggest a filename for a new SOP.

    Context: The SOP is for the Marketing department, covers the ‘Social Media Posting’ process, this is the first version (1.0), and it’s currently a draft.

    Format: Provide the suggested filename string.

Key Benefits:

  • Improved Accuracy: Catch errors and inconsistencies that human eyes might miss.
  • Efficient Updates: Quickly identify and summarize changes between versions.
  • Streamlined Management: Assist with tasks like generating change logs or suggesting standardized names.
  • Maintain Relevance: Get help adapting SOPs to new information or regulations.

Next Steps:

Across these tutorials, we’ve went from the initial challenge of a blank page, through the first messy draft, refining the instructions, to the final polish and ongoing management of your Standard Operating Procedures.

We’ve seen how crafting effective prompts – using the Persona, Task, Context, and Format framework – allows you to harness the power of AI as a valuable assistant at every stage.

Remember, AI is a tool. It takes time to find where it fits into your writing process. However, it will enhance your skills and speed up the process, but your expertise as an SOP writer remains crucial. Remember, you know things it doesn’t. It lacks context and nuance.

However, if you continue experimenting with prompts, you can refine your approach, and integrate these techniques into your workflow where they have the most impact. By combining your domain expertise with AI’s capabilities, you can significantly improve the quality and efficiency of your overall SOP development process.

Let me know how you get on on LinkedIn.

Alan Thompson