7 Steps to Better Written Policies and Procedures

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 136 pages
• Published by: Process Improvement Publishing
• Edition: 5th Edition April 1, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1929065248
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1929065240
• Book Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Weighs: 11.2 ounces

Product Review
7 Steps to Better Written Policies and Procedures focuses exclusively on the Writing Format, a method of writing used to lay out the content of policies and procedures in a logical sequence for easy reading and understanding by readers.
This book is based on Chapter 4 of the Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures.
Exercises are presented based on a real-life case study. Answers are presented that represent good and not-so-good answers. Do the exercises and compare your answers. Make improvements in your writing skills by doing the exercises. Sample policies and procedures are presented at the end of this book. --Process Improvement Publishing

I found this book to be an exceptional value. For complete understanding, read all of his policy and procedure books. -- Mike Tarrani, IT Consultant and Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, 2/2002

I found this workbook exciting because his writing scenarios, exercises, and answers really worked! I know, I tried them. -- Linda Zarate, IT Consultant and Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, 2/2002

Organizations new to writing policies and procedures documentation will find this book very useful and effective in getting started quickly. -- Journal for the Society for Technical Communications (STC), 11/2002

Product Description
7 Steps to Better Written Policies and Procedures is an extension of the fourth chapter of Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures that addresses the Writing Format, or the heart of any successful policies and procedures system. While this book focuses on writing perfect, consistent, and accurate policies and procedures, this author has also included a five-step writing process that can be used in all kinds of correspondence from policies and procedures to technical manuals.
This basic primer is a mere 168 pages and will only take 2-3 hours to read, upon which you'll have a great understanding of the mind of the policies and procedures writer. With this mindset, you'll be ready to write policies and procedures for any company, any size, and in any industry.

Reader Reviews
This book is better suited to experienced policies and procedures writers. If you are new to writing policies and procedures I highly recommend first reading the author's first book, "Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures" from which the key principles in this one are derived. As someone who has extensive experience I found this book to be an invaluable aid. The structured format the author provides ensures that your policies and procedures are consistent. The most valuable sections that even the most experienced writer will appreciate are (1)40-step action plan that sets forth roles and responsibilities, key tasks and quality assurance of your policies and procedures (this section is based on another of the author's books titled "Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures"). (2) The 5-step writing process. This section is a model workflow that augments the action plan, as well as provide a good basis for estimating level of effort to produce policies and procedures. In fact, this 5-step process can be adapted to any type of writing from user manuals to proposals. I have completely incorporated this into my own "bag of tricks". (3)Templates and examples. The best way to learn is by example and the ones provided in this book add more value and show best practices. Aside from providing an effective 7-step approach to developing policies and procedures (including the 40-step action plan and 5-step writing process), this book can easily serve as a style guide for corporate policy and procedure writers, as well as a training manual for members of business teams tasked with developing policies and procedures. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the fact that this book should be used in conjunction with "Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures" if you are serious about quality policies that are enforceable. I also recommend that you consider "Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures" instead of this book if you are new to writing policies and procedures. After you've mastered the basics this book will serve as a ready reference.