What's a good AI prompt for writing a standard operating procedure (SOP) from a supervisor's notes

The Prompt

Turn these supervisor notes into a formal SOP for [process/task name].

Raw notes: [paste notes — steps, tools/materials needed, safety considerations mentioned]
Format as: purpose, required tools/materials, numbered step-by-step procedure, and a safety/quality-check callout box.
Write for a new operator following this for the first time — don't assume prior knowledge the notes didn't state.

Why This Prompt Works

SOPs written by an experienced supervisor for their own reference tend to skip steps that feel obvious to them but aren’t to a new operator — explicitly instructing the model to write for someone with no prior context surfaces exactly the gaps that cause training failures and inconsistent output.

How to Customize It

Have the supervisor review the numbered steps against actually performing the task once — any step that reads unclear or assumes unstated knowledge needs a supervisor edit, not a model guess. Include the specific tools and materials by name and part number where relevant, since a new operator won’t know which generic-sounding item on a shelf is actually the right one.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t skip the safety callout even for routine tasks — omitting safety steps because they seem “obvious” to experienced staff is a documented root cause in incident investigations. Also avoid combining multiple distinct actions into a single numbered step; a new operator following the SOP for the first time needs each discrete action on its own line to follow along without guessing.

Bottom Line

A good SOP prompt is written for someone with zero prior context on the task, with safety and quality checks called out explicitly rather than assumed — reviewed against actually performing the task before it’s finalized.