Procedures in a knowledge base

When our company was a small startup, we uttered the word "procedures" with disgust and mocked larger companies which, in our opinion, were drowning in procedures and thus slowing down all their processes.

As years passed, our company grew, and with the increasing number of elements to manage and control, our disdain for procedures viciously backfired. We were drowning in chaos, and the very procedures we had ridiculed became our lifeline.

Now, properly prepared and maintained procedures are considered a blessing. Their importance grows even more in the era of artificial intelligence. As you might guess, AI, like standardization, also loves procedures.

As you create your knowledge base, you will often write procedures. Like all other documents, they too should be standardized and use a common template.

What does a well-written procedure look like in the knowledge base? Let's look at an example below.

Step 1: State the prerequisites

Every procedure should include basic introductory information before moving on to specific instructions.

1. Purpose: Write a brief, straightforward summary of the subject and objectives of this procedure.
2. Owner: Include the name of the procedure owner - the owner is the person responsible for its maintenance and update.
3. Resources: If there are any useful resources that a team member should read before starting the procedure, make sure to list and provide links here.

Example:

Step 2: Use steps and add context

Break the procedure into logical steps.

Start by writing the initial and final steps, then try to fill in everything in between by going through the process in practice and documenting everything.

Keep in mind that the reader may be seeing the procedure for the first time - they will need a clear explanation of how and why something should be done. This is why we use steps that allow structuring the content as a logical flow of actions but also give the opportunity to add detailed explanations and references to each element of this flow.

Step 3: Add a checklist at the end

At the end of each procedure, include at least one summarizing checklist that will help the reader determine if all necessary actions have been taken to thoroughly check the quality of the entire process.

In CogniVis Docs, add the checklist by selecting it from the text editor options:

Step 4: Provide a template for the procedure

We've already discussed this in the previous lesson, but it's worth reminding - before you and your team start adding any content to the knowledge base, initially create templates - including a template for procedures.

This way, you'll ensure order and standardization, which you'll be grateful for as your knowledge base grows.