Procedures
Guidelines
Give an overview of what the procedures cover, whether this is a new or revised procedure, when the procedure applies, why the procedural change, and who is involved. Any time you require employees to learn a new procedure, they want to know, “Why bother?” Also, when readers understand the “why” behind procedures and how they fit into the big picture, they can make better judgments about exceptions or problems that develop. The actual steps of the procedure then will be the expanded “action” of the basic format.
Use the subject line to show whether this is a new or a revised procedure or only documentation of the present procedure.
Begin at the beginning. Be careful regarding assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. In fact, in most procedural writing, you should visualize yourself talking to the least-knowledgeable person who must follow your instructions.
Give steps in chronological order.
Identify each step that is a revision of existing procedure, explaining the purpose of the change.
Highlight prominently any safety precautions or problems that may develop. If precautions are lengthy, promise specific details later in the chronological procedural step.
Indicate each action in a separate sentence. Be particularly careful about linking phrases, items, and clauses with the word “and.” Usually a more specific linking word is called for. For example: “Press the EV button and eject the tape.” Is this one action or two? If you mean two separate actions, put them in separate sentences. If there is a time relationship, say, “Press the EV button. Then eject the tape.” If there’s a cause-and-effect relationship, say, “Press the EV button, thus ejecting the tape” or “To eject the tape, press the EV button.”
Give illustrations or examples for complicated steps or explanations.
Acknowledge and note exceptions immediately after each step to which they apply.
Use active-voice verbs. Because phrases telling who does what often sound awkward, writers are tempted to drop them out. That’s dangerous: Who does what is particularly important in procedures. Not: “Any emergency work orders should be brought to the attention of the maintenance supervisor for immediate action,” but: “Each engineer should bring any emergency work order to the attention of the maintenance supervisor for immediate action.” Or “Bring any emergency work orders to the attention of the maintenance supervisor for immediate action.” (The command form of the verb here indicates the reader is the one who does the action.)
Use headings, lists, or any creative design that will help the reader move quickly through the procedure to skim or relocate information.
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