SOP vs Process vs Work Instruction: What's the Difference?

A process, an SOP, and a work instruction sit at three different levels of granularity. A **process** is the whole flow (Customer Onboarding, from lead to first success milestone). An **SOP** is a specific repeatable task inside that flow (Send the day-one welcome email). A **work instruction** is the tightest, atomic 'how' for a single step (in Klaviyo, click 'New flow' → select 'Welcome' → set trigger to `signup_at`). Confusing the three is the single biggest reason SOP libraries get bloated and unread. Keep processes as visual maps ([swim lanes](/glossary), SIPOC), keep SOPs as captured web pages produced with [Haiku](/reviews/haiku) or [Scribe](/reviews/scribe), and keep work instructions inline within their SOP — not as standalone pages.