Business procedure: what it is and what it means

A business procedure is the documented and accessible description of how a recurring activity is carried out, with which inputs, which expected outputs and which quality criteria. It is not a manual written once and then filed away: it is an operational tool that lives in daily work. ISO 9001 defines it as "documented information": it describes what is done, who does it, with which criteria and which output is expected. The procedure is not the macro flow — that is the process — nor the detailed technical instruction for a single step.

Distinctive: documented and accessible description
Distinctive: operational tool that lives in daily work
Essential: recurring activity
Essential: expected outputs
Essential: quality criteria
Constant: input
Constant: who does it

Glossary

Business procedure

A documented and accessible description of how a recurring activity is carried out, with inputs, expected outputs and quality criteria.