Steps
- Record yourself doing the job once, start to finish, and talk while you do it: what you click, where files go, what you do when something goes wrong. Any screen recorder or video call recording that makes a transcript works.
- Copy the transcript. Don't clean it up. To try it first, use
sample-walkthrough-transcript.txt. - Open a new chat in Claude (claude.ai). Paste the prompt below, then replace "[paste it here]" with the transcript. Send it.
- Answer the questions at the end. Those answers are the part of the process nobody had written down.
- Give the SOP to the person who'll do the job next, and have them follow it once while you watch. Fix whatever they get stuck on.
Before you paste a transcript that mentions clients, check your company's rules on putting client information into an AI tool.
The prompt
Below is a transcript of me explaining a process out loud. Turn it into an SOP a new hire can follow.
Include:
1. What starts the process, and what "done" looks like.
2. Numbered steps, each with who does it.
3. The exceptions, and what to do for each.
4. A short checklist.
Rules:
- Only use what's in the transcript. Don't add steps.
- Keep my words for names of tools and folders.
- At the end, list anything vague, missing, or contradictory, as questions for me.
Transcript:
[paste it here]