Why Your SOPs Read Like Bad Recipes (And How to Fix Them With P.A.C.T.)
Key Takeaways
- Vague verbs like "update" or "reconcile" are actions, not processes.
- Every step needs a Person, Action, Cadence, and Tech specified explicitly.
- Define the seat (the role) for each step, not the department name.
- "As needed" is a loophole, not a cadence. Replace it with a frequency or trigger.
- Name the exact software view, drive, or template — never assume the team knows.
A good SOP specifies a Person, an Action, a Cadence, and a Tech for every step. Skip any of the four and your team will guess — and eventually, they'll guess wrong. The P.A.C.T. framework is the simplest way to pressure-test whether an SOP is actually deployable or just a draft pretending to be a procedure.
Why Most SOPs Fail in Practice
I recently audited a company's operations manual and it read exactly like a terrible cooking blog. It told the team what to make, but left out all the measurements.
"Update the client report."
"Reconcile the daily ledger."
Those are actions. They aren't processes. When you leave out the details of who, when, and how, your team has to guess. Sooner or later they'll guess wrong, and you'll lose money.
Before you draw a single flowchart, pressure-test every step with the P.A.C.T. framework. If a step in your procedure isn't annotated with these four elements, you can see exactly why things are breaking.
P — Person: Define the Seat, Not the Department
Who owns this step? Don't write down a vague department name like "Finance" or "Customer Success." Define the specific seat. Multiple job titles may be eligible to play the role, but specify the exact hat they wear when doing it.
"The Billing Specialist on shift" is a seat. "Finance" is a hand-wave.
A — Action: Specify the Execution
What is the specific task? Sometimes the action links out to a separate process. Sometimes it needs a highly specific how-to. The goal is simple: never leave a talented employee guessing what "completed" actually looks like.
C — Cadence: Kill the "As Needed" Loophole
What is the exact timing? A cadence must have a clear frequency (weekly, daily) or a specific trigger (within 24 hours of X happening).
"As needed" is not a cadence. "As needed" is a loophole. It means the step will get done when someone feels like it, which in practice means inconsistently or never.
T — Tech: Name the Exact Tool
What software, view, or template is used? Don't assume the team knows which Salesforce report to pull or which shared drive to open. Name the tool, name the view, link to the template.
How to Apply P.A.C.T. to an Existing SOP
Pull up your current procedure and walk every step through the four-letter check. The obvious seems obvious — until things break down. The point of P.A.C.T. is to surface the assumptions you've baked in without realising it, before they cost you a customer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the P.A.C.T. framework for SOPs?
P.A.C.T. is a four-element check applied to every step of a standard operating procedure: Person (the seat that owns the step), Action (the specific task), Cadence (the timing or trigger), and Tech (the exact tool used). If any element is missing, the step is not yet ready to deploy.
Why is "as needed" a bad cadence in an SOP?
"As needed" leaves the trigger to individual interpretation, which means different team members will run the step at different times or skip it entirely. Replace it with a defined frequency (daily, weekly) or an event trigger ("within 24 hours of a refund request").
How long should each P.A.C.T. step take to define?
For a well-understood task, defining all four elements should take 5 to 10 minutes per step. If a step takes longer, you usually have ambiguity about ownership or tooling that needs resolving before the SOP is finalised.
Essoflo Team
The Essoflo team writes about operations, process design, and scaling teams without burning them out.