Writing Policies And Procedures

A well-known beverage company wanted to streamline 2,800 pages of quality-assurance instructions and convert them for online use. Our approach:

• Solve structural problems. We worked with quality managers to corral scattered instructions into clear categories, neither too broad nor too narrow, that didn’t overlap or leave gaps.

• Design a page template. The existing layout, little more than a blank page, was unhelpful for writers and readers alike. We designed a two-column template that displayed headings and definitions on the left and steps on the right. Symbols in varied colors called attention to notes, cautions, and warnings. Hyperlinks took users to illustrations or resources for completing processes.

• Rewrite and edit. Working with the company team, we rewrote and edited the 2,800 dense, printed pages using standards for simplified international English. The result: 800 streamlined, interactive screen pages.

The company distributed this new quality system to its laboratories and bottling plants around the world, where managers easily translated its clear procedures into 45 languages for local use.

In a similar project, we helped document finance procedures at the U.S. Department of Education, to improve efficiency and strengthen accountability. We designed a template that the finance staff filled during our workshops. The project earned the 2001 Best Practice Award from the Association of Government Accountants.