What is Procedures?

Understanding Procedures

Explicit, repeatable activities to accomplish a specific task. Procedures can address one-time or infrequent actions, or common, regular occurrences. Procedures are detailed, step-by-step instructions that specify exactly how to perform activities to implement policies and standards consistently. They define who performs actions, when, how, and in what sequence to achieve specific outcomes. Procedures are referenced in frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST SP 800-53, ITIL, and various regulatory requirements. Organizations implement procedures through detailed documentation, process flows, checklists, automation where possible, training, and verification of adherence. For example, an incident response procedure might detail specific steps for initial assessment, classification, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident analysis, including required documentation, notification timelines, and escalation paths for different incident types. Related terms: Process, Work instruction, Standard operating procedure (SOP), Workflow, Documentation, Checklist, Process mapping, Task sequence.