Process Documentation Glossary
Essential terms about process documentation, SOPs, onboarding, and operational management — explained simply and clearly.
- SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
- A document that describes, step by step, how to execute a task or process within a company. Ensures everyone does it the same way, regardless of who executes. Learn more →
- Process documentation
- Formal record of how a task or activity should be executed. Includes steps, responsible parties, prerequisites, and expected results. Essential for scaling operations and preserving institutional knowledge. Learn more →
- Onboarding
- The process of integrating new hires into a company. Goes beyond day one — includes access, training, process introduction, and follow-up during the first months. Learn more →
- Process standardization
- Defining the best way to execute each task and ensuring everyone follows that standard. Reduces errors, improves quality, and enables scaling operations. Learn more →
- Process mapping
- Identifying and recording all steps of a process as it's executed today (as-is). The first step before optimizing or standardizing.
- Step-by-step guide
- A document describing a numbered sequence of actions, each with clear instructions and ideally screenshots. The most effective format for documenting software processes. Learn more →
- Knowledge base
- A centralized repository where a company stores all its documentation: guides, SOPs, FAQs, manuals. Allows anyone to find the information they need without depending on colleagues. Learn more →
- AI polishing
- Using artificial intelligence to rewrite and improve documentation text. AI transforms quick notes into clear, objective, standardized instructions — reducing creation time from hours to minutes.
- Automatic capture
- Technology that records user actions in a browser or system and transforms each click into a documented step with a screenshot. Eliminates the manual work of creating documentation.
- Time to productivity
- A metric measuring how many days a new employee takes to execute tasks independently. Good onboarding with clear documentation reduces this by up to 50%. Learn more →
- Checklist
- A verification list with items to be completed. Unlike an SOP, it doesn't detail how to execute each item — it only lists what needs to be done.
- Buddy program
- A designated person to accompany a new employee during onboarding. Serves as the go-to point for day-to-day questions in the first months. Learn more →
- Continuous improvement
- The practice of regularly reviewing and optimizing processes. Only possible when processes are documented and standardized — without a baseline, there's no way to measure progress. Learn more →