Professional Documents
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Creating or Revising Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Version i-1 May 27, 2009
This document incorporates ITIL Best Practices Copyright 2009, FCMAT/California School Information Services
Table of Contents
1. Service Knowledge Management System................................................................................ 3
1.1 Program Documents Hierarchy........................................................................................................... 3 .................................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Intended Audience and Reading Suggestions..................................................................................... 3
2. Introduction................................................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Document Purpose.............................................................................................................................. 2.2 Document Conventions....................................................................................................................... 2.3 Revision Schedule............................................................................................................................... 2.4 Approval Authority............................................................................................................................. 2.5 Document Organization...................................................................................................................... 4 5 5 5 5
6. Clients Served and How the SOP Helps Ensure Value.......................................................... 9 7. Creating New or Revising SOP Procedure......................................................................... 10
7.1 Obtain Approval to Create or Revise SOP and Schedule the Work................................................. 10 7.2 Assign Responsibility....................................................................................................................... 11 7.3 Development of the Draft Outline ................................................................................................... 11 7.4 Outline Review ................................................................................................................................ 12 7.5 Create First Draft of the SOP............................................................................................................ 12 7.6 Review Draft SOP with Managers, Architects, and Impacted Staff ................................................ 13 7.7 Revise Draft SOP.............................................................................................................................. 14 7.8 Review Final Revised SOP .............................................................................................................. 15 7.9 Create Final Draft of SOP................................................................................................................. 16 7.10 Review SOP with CSIS Managers.................................................................................................. 16 7.11 Approve SOP for Implementation.................................................................................................. 17 7.12 Publish New or Revised SOP......................................................................................................... 17
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Revision History
Name Nancy Sullivan Nancy Sullivan Nancy Sullivan Nancy Sullivan Nancy Sullivan Charles Burns Date 20090527 20090421 20090330 20090108 20081126 20000619 Reason For Changes Revised based upon feedback Revised based upon feedback Updated to conform with Documents Management SOP and to align with SOP Template Made formatting changes to conform with current requirements Updated to address ITIL Initial Draft Version i-0.6 i-0.5 I-0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1
Approval History
Approved By Russ Brawn Title COO Version Approved i-1.0 Date Approved May 27, 2009
Review Cycle
Review Cycle Every other year Review Date Reviewer Status-Action Needed
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1.1
The CSIS Program Documents Hierarchy graphic is included to illustrate the relationship of this SOP to higher-level program documents such as the Program Charter for CSIS and the Strategic Plan for CSIS. The documents hierarchy for this SOP is included below.
Policy Documents
1.2
The primary audience for this document is the management team and staff of the CSIS organization. Managers and those designees responsible for designing and implementing standard operating procedures must be thoroughly familiar with this document.
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Those reading this document may find it useful to read the CSIS Program Charter and the Transition Plan for CSIS Support of CALPADS, the document that describes CSIS plan to be fully prepared to assume responsibility for technical and operational support of CALPADS when the responsibility of IBM, the CALPADS vendor, ends. Those responsible for developing new or revising existing SOPs should use this document in conjunction with the CSIS SOP Template. The CSIS Program Charter may be found in SharePoint using the following path: Documents library/Program Charter
The Transition Plan for CSIS Support of CALPADS may be found in SharePoint using the following path: Documents library/Change Requests/CR 11977 - CALPADS Readiness/Project Plans CSIS/Transition Plan
The CSIS SOP Template may be found may be found in SharePoint using the following path: Documents library/Plan and or Procedure Documents/Standard Operating Procedure Guides/SOP Template
2. Introduction
2.1 Document Purpose
CSIS uses SOPs to define specific process and procedures CSIS staff members are to follow to ensure consistent delivery of quality products and services that meet the needs of CSIS clients. CSIS has adopted the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), version 3 as its framework for IT best practices. The functions or organizational units within CSIS follow processes aligned with the ITIL framework to help ensure CSIS consistently provides value to its clients. ITIL identifies specific processes across the service lifecycle. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are a part of each of these processes. SOPs are the vehicles used to implement policy. For the purpose of this SOP: Policy can be defined as formally documented management expectations and intentions (e.g. Issue Management Policy) or as decisions reached by management outside of documented policies. The latter are typically issues raised in Managers Meetings, discussed and resolved by a consensus of managers or by decree from the Chief Operations Officer. Policy states the rules the organization lives by. Process is a structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective. A process takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into defined outputs. A process may include any of the roles, responsibilities, tools and management controls required to reliably deliver the outputs. Procedure is a document containing steps that specify how to achieve an activity. Procedures are defined as part of processes. Procedures describe how policy is actually implemented.
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Once written and approved for implementation, SOPs become the roadmaps for operating the systems to support the CSIS mission. Each CSIS staff member needs to have immediate, online or hardcopy access to all SOPs that affect their actions and areas of responsibility. This document describes the procedures for creating or revising Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) within the California School Information Services (CSIS) organization.
2.5
Document Organization
This document contains 9 mandatory sections. These sections are: Section 1 presents SharePoint as the CSIS Service Knowledge Management System for program documents, the CSIS Document Hierarchy, the intended audience and reading suggestions.
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Section 2 is an introduction to the document, describing the document purpose, conventions, revision schedule, approval authority, and document organization. Section 3 provides a brief overview of procedure, references and assumptions. Section 4 describes roles and responsibilities related to this SOP. Section 5 describes CSIS products or services related to this SOP. Section 6 describes clients for the products or services related to this SOP and how this SOP will ensure value to clients. Section 7 details the process step-by-step procedures for this SOP. Section 8 includes the diagram of the procedures. Section 9 includes key performance indicators for the process.
3.1
The following documents are referenced in this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Standard Operating Procedures Template: Documents library/Plan and or Procedure Documents/Standard Operating Procedure Guides/SOP Template Documents Management SOP: Documents library/Plan and or Procedure Documents/Standard Operating Procedure Guides/SOP Documents Management
3.2
This SOP will be used by staff in all CSIS departments since each department is responsible for writing and maintaining specific SOPs. Those assigned to write or update SOPs will be given adequate time to write them. Managers will provide direction on development of the SOPs and play an active part in reviewing and commenting on drafts.
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Most SOPs will define how a process is used across the entire CSIS Program and will not be limited to procedures for a specific department. As a result, this SOP assumes all managers and architects will be involved in the review of most SOPs. Those writing SOPs will use this document, the CSIS SOP Template, and the Documents Management SOP as reference documents. Individuals or departments that fail to provide feedback during the development of a new or revised SOP are accepting the document as is.
Informed
Table 1: RACI Matrix for Creating or Revising SOPs Roles/Steps Involved in Creating or Revising an SOP Request Approval to Create or Revise SOP COO Manager or Architect Responsible for the SOP Other Managers or Architects Staff Assigned the Responsibility to Draft the SOP Other CSIS Staff Impacted by the SOP
RA
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Roles/Steps Involved in Creating or Revising an SOP Approve the Creation or Revision of the SOP and if not yet defined, designate a manager or architect to oversee the development Assign Responsibility for developing the SOP Develop the Outline Provide feedback on outline Create First Draft Review Draft Revise Draft SOP Review Revised SOP Create Final Draft Review Final Draft Approve
COO
RA
RA
RA
RA
C RA C R RA C R RA RA C R C R
RA
C R
RA
C R
RA
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This SOP and the SOP Template will enhance the warranty of CSIS services by expanding the required components of SOPs to include the artifacts or deliverables and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each procedure. Using the deliverables and KPIs, CSIS can monitor whether or not the procedures are having the intended result and take corrective action if they are not. This SOP includes KPIs in Section 9. See that section for an explanation of how KPIs contribute to CSIS continual service improvement process.
7.1 Obtain Approval to Create or Revise SOP and Schedule the Work
Description - Obtain approval to create or revise a SOP and establish a target completion date. Objective To decide whether or not to create or revise a SOP, and, if so, to update the Master Schedule to include the task of writing the SOP as well as the expected completion date. Prerequisite A new function is added to the organizations scope of operations or there is a major change in the way CSIS does business resulting in the need to document new procedures or update an existing SOP. Steps: 1. A manager, architect, or staff member recognize and document the need for the new or revised SOP and submit the request and justification for consideration at a Managers Meeting or Master Calendar Meeting. 2. The COO, managers and architects discuss the request and justification. 3. The COO makes a decision as whether to proceed with the new or revised document. 4. The COO assigns a manager to be responsible for the document. 5. The CSIS managers agree upon a target completion date for the document. 6. The responsible manager informs the Project Manager who updates the master schedule. Timing There is no specific schedule for this step. Deliverable The master schedule is updated to include the SOP and its target completion date.
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Exceptions If the staff member cannot develop the outline without additional direction, the SOP will be scheduled for a bi-weekly review and the staff member will communicate their questions to the managers and architect prior to the bi-weekly review. Deliverable A draft outline of the SOP is stored in SharePoint, or in the case of exceptions, prior to the bi-weekly review, an email that details questions is sent from the responsible staff person to managers and architects.
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Prerequisite This tasks prerequisite is that the staff person responsible has a clear understanding of what is to be included in the SOP. Steps: 1. Using the outline, feedback on the outline from the CSIS managers and architects, and the CSIS SOP Template, the staff member responsible for the SOP begins drafting the document. 2. During the development, staff member meets with her/his managers and other staff who will be using the SOP or who will be impacted by it to ensure the SOP is written from an unbiased and well-defined perspective. 3. The staff member completes both the narrative and a graphical flow diagram as shown in the CSIS SOP Template. 4. The staff member loads the completed draft into SharePoint.
Timing There is no specific schedule for this step. The amount of time that it takes to draft an SOP is wholly dependent on the complexity of the task and number of staff, departments and agencies that are affected by it. The draft should be completed in a timeframe consistent with completing the final SOP by the scheduled completion date. Exceptions If the development of the SOP is not progressing and the SOP is unlikely to be completed by the scheduled due date, the SOP will be scheduled for a bi-weekly review and mitigation options such as assigning other staff or freeing the staff member assigned from other responsibilities, will be discussed. Deliverable A draft form of the SOP is stored in SharePoint. Notification The staff person responsible developing the SOP notifies the architects and managers that the draft is ready for review.
7.6 Review Draft SOP with Managers, Architects, and Impacted Staff
Description Review draft with managers, architects and staff who will be impacted by the SOP Objective To gather feedback from the managers, architects and staff who will be impacted by the SOP and come to consensus on necessary changes and next steps. Prerequisite The completed draft from the previous step. Steps: 1. The draft SOP is taken to the bi-weekly review meeting and is also submitted to staff member(s) affected by the procedures. 2. comments. Affected staff attend the bi-weekly meetings or submit individual
3. Managers and architects attend the bi-weekly meeting and provide feedback designed to ensure the SOP is clear, aligned with ITL where desired, and of
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sufficient detail so as to ensure consistent implementation of procedures that contribute to enhancing the value of CSIS services. 4. feedback received. The staff member responsible for the document takes notes on the
5. If conflicting feedback is submitted, managers and architects come to consensus on the changes to be made. 6. Managers, architects, and the staff person responsible for the draft also come to consensus on whether the revised draft will return for discussion at another bi-weekly review or if, itis ready to be submitted for approval once the changes have been made. 7. The responsible staff person documents who was invited to provide feedback, who did and who did not. Timing Depending on the complexity of the process being standardized and documented, this step can take anywhere from a day to several months. This timing should be determined at the outset and taken into consideration when creating a target completion date. Responsibility of All departments and staff impacted by the SOP are responsible for reviewing the draft SOP. Deliverable The responsible staff member documents feedback from the various departments. The responsible staff person also documents who was invited to provide feedback, who did and who did not as a means of documenting that the process has been followed.
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Timing There should be little delay between the feedback being received and the draft SOP revision and republication. Delay in this step may cause the reviewers to forget what was in their minds during the review and thereby causing more delays. Exceptions If the development of the SOP is not progressing, the SOP will be scheduled for a bi-weekly review and mitigation options will be discussed. Responsibility of The person revising the SOP should be the same person that wrote the original draft. Deliverable Revised SOP is stored in SharePoint with the revision history noting the date, major changes made and who provided the feedback which caused the revision to be made.
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Timing Complete the review as soon as it can be fit into a regularly scheduled Managers Meeting. Delays in final review of the SOP may negatively impact the functional operations of CSIS. Exceptions If the SOP has been thoroughly vetted, this step may be completed via email. If the CSIS managers have all actively participated throughout the development process and have indicated their support of the document as is, this step may be skipped. Deliverable Meeting notes that depict the responses of the CSIS managers to the SOP and either an SOP that is ready for final approval or an SOP that has been sent back for additional revisions.
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