How do you audit your company's existing SOPs to find out what is outdated?

Audit your SOPs by listing every document, checking the last-modified date and last-reviewed date, then having the process owner verify accuracy by performing the task against the documentation. Flag any SOP that hasn't been reviewed in 6 months, references discontinued tools, or includes screenshots of old UI versions.

How do you run an SOP audit?

Follow a four-step process:

Step	Action	Output
1. Inventory	List every SOP with its title, owner, platform, last-modified date	Spreadsheet of all SOPs
2. Classify	Mark each as Current, Needs Update, Outdated, or Redundant	Status column added
3. Validate	Process owner performs the task using the SOP and notes discrepancies	List of required updates
4. Act	Update, archive, or re-record each flagged SOP	Cleaned knowledge base

Red flags that indicate an SOP is outdated:

• Last edited 6+ months ago — Processes change; documentation that old is suspect
• Screenshots show old UI — The software has been updated since the screenshots were taken
• References deprecated tools — Mentions software the team no longer uses
• Broken links — Internal links point to pages that no longer exist
• No assigned owner — Nobody is responsible for keeping it current

How do you prevent SOPs from becoming outdated again?

After the audit, build a maintenance system:

1. Assign every SOP an owner — One person responsible for accuracy
2. Set review dates — Quarterly reviews for critical SOPs, semi-annual for others
3. Tie updates to process changes — When a tool or process changes, updating the SOP is part of the rollout
4. Use automated capture — Glyde lets you re-record a workflow in minutes, making SOP updates a quick task instead of a project

The audit itself should run annually. But the maintenance system ensures that the knowledge base stays clean between audits.

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This answer is part of our guide to standard operating procedures.