Overview

SOPs require ongoing maintenance to remain accurate and useful. This skill covers strategies for keeping SOPs current, managing versions, and ensuring SOPs evolve with your systems.

Key Concepts

SOP Lifecycle

1. Creation: Initial SOP development
2. Active Use: SOP is being executed regularly
3. Update: Modifications to reflect changes
4. Deprecation: SOP is outdated but referenced
5. Archive/Removal: SOP is no longer needed

Why SOPs Become Outdated

• Technology Changes: Tools, frameworks, or languages updated
• Process Evolution: Workflows improve or change
• Environment Changes: Infrastructure or deployment changes
• Discovery: Better approaches found through experience
• External Dependencies: Third-party services change APIs

Best Practices

Version Control for SOPs

Treat SOPs as code:

# Store SOPs in git repository
my-sops/
├── .git/
├── deployment/
│   ├── deploy-web-app.sop.md
│   └── rollback-deployment.sop.md
├── development/
│   ├── code-review.sop.md
│   └── feature-implementation.sop.md
└── README.md

Commit Messages:

git commit -m "feat(deployment): add health check step to deploy-web-app.sop"
git commit -m "fix(code-review): correct security checklist items"
git commit -m "docs(development): update feature-implementation with new test framework"

SOP Versioning

Include version information in SOP metadata:

# Deploy Application to Production

**Version**: 2.1.0
**Last Updated**: 2025-12-05
**Author**: DevOps Team
**Status**: Active

## Changelog

### v2.1.0 (2025-12-05)
- Added automated rollback triggers
- Updated health check thresholds

### v2.0.0 (2025-11-15)
- Migrated to Kubernetes from Docker Swarm
- Added canary deployment steps

### v1.0.0 (2025-09-01)
- Initial deployment SOP

Keeping SOPs Current

Regular Review Schedule:

## SOP Maintenance Schedule

- **Monthly**: Review frequently-used SOPs (deployment, incident response)
- **Quarterly**: Review all active SOPs for accuracy
- **After Major Changes**: Update SOPs when systems change
- **Post-Incident**: Update SOPs based on lessons learned

Maintenance Checklist:

## SOP Review Checklist

- [ ] Prerequisites are still accurate
- [ ] Tools/versions are current
- [ ] Steps reflect actual process
- [ ] Parameters are still relevant
- [ ] Success criteria are measurable
- [ ] Error handling covers common issues
- [ ] Related SOPs are still valid
- [ ] Examples use current syntax

Deprecating SOPs

When an SOP is outdated:

# ⚠️ DEPRECATED: Deploy Using Docker Swarm

**Status**: DEPRECATED as of 2025-11-15
**Replaced By**: deploy-kubernetes.sop.md
**Reason**: Migrated infrastructure from Docker Swarm to Kubernetes

## Migration Guide

If you need to migrate from this SOP:
1. Review new Kubernetes deployment SOP
2. Understand key differences in deployment process
3. Update CI/CD pipelines to use new SOP
4. Archive Docker Swarm configurations

## Original SOP (for reference only)

[Keep original content for historical reference]

Managing SOP Collections

Directory Organization:

sops/
├── active/              # Currently used SOPs
│   ├── deployment/
│   ├── development/
│   └── operations/
├── deprecated/          # Outdated but may be referenced
│   └── legacy-deployments/
└── templates/           # SOP templates for creating new SOPs
    ├── analysis.template.sop.md
    ├── implementation.template.sop.md
    └── deployment.template.sop.md

Index File:

# SOP Index

## Active SOPs

### Deployment
- [deploy-web-app.sop.md](active/deployment/deploy-web-app.sop.md) - v2.1.0 - Deploy web application to production
- [rollback-deployment.sop.md](active/deployment/rollback-deployment.sop.md) - v1.5.0 - Rollback failed deployment

### Development
- [code-review.sop.md](active/development/code-review.sop.md) - v3.0.0 - Review code changes
- [tdd-implementation.sop.md](active/development/tdd-implementation.sop.md) - v2.2.0 - Implement features with TDD

## Deprecated SOPs

- [deploy-docker-swarm.sop.md](deprecated/deploy-docker-swarm.sop.md) - DEPRECATED - Use deploy-web-app.sop.md instead

Examples

Example 1: Updating SOP for Tool Change

Before (using old test framework):

# Run Test Suite

## Steps

1. Run tests with Mocha

   ```bash
   npm run test

1. Check coverage with Istanbul

   npm run coverage
   

**After (updated for Vitest):**

```markdown
# Run Test Suite

**Version**: 2.0.0
**Last Updated**: 2025-12-05
**Changes**: Migrated from Mocha to Vitest

## Steps

1. Run tests with Vitest

   ```bash
   npm run test

1. Check coverage (built into Vitest)

   npm run test:coverage
   

Migration Notes

If migrating from v1.x (Mocha):

• Vitest uses same syntax for most assertions
• Coverage is built-in (no separate Istanbul step)
• Tests run significantly faster

### Example 2: Adding Environment Variable Support

**Updated SOP with env var support:**

```markdown
# Configure SOP Paths

## Overview

Configure custom SOP paths using environment variable or configuration file.
This allows teams to maintain organization-specific SOPs alongside built-in ones.

## Parameters

- **SOP Paths**: {sop_paths} - Colon-separated directory paths

## Methods

### Method 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)

Set `AGENT_SOP_PATHS` environment variable:

```bash
# In ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export AGENT_SOP_PATHS="~/my-team-sops:~/project-sops"

# Or inline for single use
AGENT_SOP_PATHS="~/my-sops" strands-agents-sops mcp

Method 2: Command Line Argument

Pass paths directly to MCP server:

strands-agents-sops mcp --sop-paths ~/my-sops:~/team-sops

Method 3: Configuration File

Add to Claude Code settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-sops": {
      "command": "strands-agents-sops",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "AGENT_SOP_PATHS": "~/my-sops:~/team-sops"
      }
    }
  }
}

Precedence

1. Command line --sop-paths (highest priority)
2. AGENT_SOP_PATHS environment variable
3. Default paths (built-in SOPs only)

Custom SOPs override built-in SOPs with matching names.

### Example 3: Post-Incident SOP Update

**Adding error handling based on production incident:**

```markdown
# Deploy Application to Production

**Version**: 2.2.0
**Last Updated**: 2025-12-05
**Changes**: Added database connection pool check after incident #1234

## Changelog

### v2.2.0 (2025-12-05)
- Added database connection pool verification step
- Updated error handling for connection failures
- Added monitoring alert validation

*Reason: Production incident #1234 caused by connection pool exhaustion*

## Steps

1. Pre-deployment verification
   - Verify staging deployment healthy
   - Check database migrations ready
   - **NEW**: Verify database connection pool configuration
     ```bash
     # Check pool settings
     kubectl get configmap db-config -o yaml | grep -A5 pool

     # Validate pool size matches expected load
     # MUST be ≥ (expected_connections * 1.5)
     ```

2. Deploy application
   [... existing steps ...]

3. Post-deployment verification
   - Run smoke tests
   - Monitor error rates
   - **NEW**: Verify database connection pool metrics
     ```bash
     # Check active connections
     # MUST be < 80% of pool size
     curl https://monitoring.example.com/metrics/db-pool
     ```

## Error Handling

### NEW: Error: Database Connection Pool Exhausted

**Symptoms**: Application unable to acquire database connections, requests timing out

**Cause**: Pool size insufficient for load, connection leaks, or slow queries

**Resolution**:

1. Immediate: Scale up connection pool size

   ```bash
   kubectl patch configmap db-config --patch '{"data":{"pool_size":"100"}}'
   kubectl rollout restart deployment app

1. Monitor connection usage for 5 minutes
2. If issue persists, execute rollback
3. Post-incident: Review slow query logs and optimize

## Common Patterns

### Template for SOP Update

```markdown
# {SOP Title}

**Version**: {new_version}
**Last Updated**: {date}
**Changes**: {summary of changes}

## Changelog

### v{new_version} ({date})
- {change 1}
- {change 2}
- {change 3}

*Reason: {why these changes were made}*

### v{previous_version} ({date})
[Previous changes]

## [Rest of SOP content]

Template for Deprecation Notice

# ⚠️ DEPRECATED: {Old SOP Title}

**Status**: DEPRECATED as of {date}
**Replaced By**: {new-sop-file.sop.md}
**Reason**: {why deprecated}
**Support End Date**: {when will this be removed}

## Migration Guide

To migrate from this SOP to {new SOP}:

1. **Key Differences**:
   - {difference 1}
   - {difference 2}

2. **Migration Steps**:
   - {step 1}
   - {step 2}

3. **Breaking Changes**:
   - {breaking change 1}
   - {breaking change 2}

## References

- New SOP: [{new-sop-title}]({new-sop-file.sop.md})
- Migration Guide: [link]
- Announcement: [link to announcement]

---

## Original SOP (for historical reference)

[Keep original content below this line]

Anti-Patterns

Avoid These Maintenance Mistakes:

1. No Version Tracking

   • ❌ Updating SOPs without tracking changes
   • ✅ Use version numbers and changelog

2. Ignoring Deprecated SOPs

   • ❌ Leaving outdated SOPs without deprecation notice
   • ✅ Clearly mark deprecated SOPs and provide alternatives

3. Breaking Changes Without Notice

   • ❌ Silently changing SOP behavior
   • ✅ Version bump and migration guide for breaking changes

4. No Review Schedule

   • ❌ Only updating SOPs when they break
   • ✅ Regular review schedule for all SOPs

5. Poor Change Communication

   • ❌ Updating SOPs without notifying users
   • ✅ Announce significant SOP changes to team

Maintenance Workflow

Regular Maintenance

## Monthly SOP Maintenance

1. Review high-frequency SOPs
   - Check execution logs for failures
   - Review any reported issues
   - Update based on user feedback

2. Validate SOP accuracy
   - Run through critical SOPs manually
   - Verify tools/versions are current
   - Test examples still work

3. Update documentation
   - Fix any inaccuracies found
   - Add clarifications where needed
   - Update related SOPs

4. Commit and communicate changes
   - Commit updates with descriptive messages
   - Announce changes in team channel
   - Update SOP index

Post-Change Maintenance

## After System Changes

When infrastructure, tools, or processes change:

1. Identify affected SOPs

   ```bash
   # Search for SOPs mentioning changed component
   grep -r "docker" sops/*.sop.md

1. Update each affected SOP

   • Update version number
   • Add changelog entry
   • Modify affected steps
   • Update examples

2. Test updated SOPs

   • Run through new workflow
   • Verify all steps work
   • Check success criteria still valid

3. Review dependencies

   • Check related SOPs need updates
   • Update SOP index
   • Notify team of changes

## Related Skills

- **sop-authoring**: Create new SOPs with quality
- **sop-structure**: Organize SOPs effectively
- **sop-rfc2119**: Use precise requirement keywords