Bullet Points vs Numbered lists

MissTSmith

Starting to get Involved
#1
I am updating some SOPs and have a question on numbering for the Reference Documents and Record/Templates sections
My documents are not standardized (bullet points vs numbering) so not sure which is okay or if it is just personal preference..;)

6.0 Reference Documents
  • 7600-0011 - WI - Supplier Corrective Action Requests,
  • 7600-0009 - WI - Receiving
vs

6.0 Reference Documents
6.1 7600-0011 - WI - Supplier Corrective Action Requests,
6.2 7600-0009 - WI - Receiving

Thanks for your thoughts on this! :cool:
 
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yodon

Staff member
Super Moderator
#2
My "knee jerk" was to say "personal preference" but double-check your internal procedures to be sure they don't specify any particular way (please say no, please say no :) ). If an auditor tries to raise it as an issue, politely ask them to identify the clause they believe this is violating and ask them to provide evidence why the approach is ineffective.

All that aside, consistency is usually not a bad idea.
 

guna8184

Starting to get Involved
#5
ISO did not specified the use bullets or numbers,
You should refer back to your procedures what was written.
I agreed to Tagin, bullets are easier to read.
 

monoj mon

Quite Involved in Discussions
#6
I agree with the comments that say "bullets are easy to read". However, I would also like to say that "Numbers are easy to track and cite".

Tracking: If in the future you add/remove more reference documents, then it would be easier to "track" how many additional reference documents you have added/removed.

Citing: If you use numbering, then it would be easy for you to cite the reference inside your SOP (e.g. Ref. 6.1, Ref. 6.2 etc.).
 

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#7
I am with monoj mon on this - I prefer numbering schema for easy reference and in our documents, we allow until four level of multi-numbering (for example, 6.1.1.1) after which bullets are used.

Again, its your preference and there are no specific requirement - follow what works good for your organization
 

somashekar

Staff member
Super Moderator
#8
I am updating some SOPs and have a question on numbering for the Reference Documents and Record/Templates sections
My documents are not standardized (bullet points vs numbering) so not sure which is okay or if it is just personal preference..;)

6.0 Reference Documents
  • 7600-0011 - WI - Supplier Corrective Action Requests,
  • 7600-0009 - WI - Receiving
vs

6.0 Reference Documents
6.1 7600-0011 - WI - Supplier Corrective Action Requests,
6.2 7600-0009 - WI - Receiving

Thanks for your thoughts on this! :cool:
Let me also pitch in ... :)
You are making a SOP. This will be used by many at various times and can be quoted for any further communication. This could remain in use long after you leave the organization, and someone else may be in charge and likely more reference documents could be added. You are also careful enough to number the main section viz 6.0.
With everything correct said in the above posts, consider the same logic of numbering even if the numbered line is a reference and not any description statement.... like.,

6.0 Reference Documents:
6.1 xxyyxx
6.2 yyzzaa

Do you like my suggestion... :cool:

(I put the 6.1 and 6.2 with a tab space but the tab did not work. Then I put the 6.1 and 6.2 with a 5 space from the left margin. It looked fine when I did, as well as when I reopened the post to edit and put this statement, but as I posted, they all aligned to the left margin... :geek:)
 
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Randy

Super Moderator
#9
As a 3rd party certification auditor (and that's all I do now) my preference is whatever works for you that you can also easily manage. It doesn't have to work for me or anyone else, just for you (organization), that's the sum total of it and everything else you can toss aside.
 

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#10
(I put the 6.1 and 6.2 with a tab space but the tab did not work.
Note the post toolbar:
Indent.jpg


My :2cents: - Bullet points are good for Powerpoint presentations, but for formal documentation I would use ordered lists for precise documents. @somashekar has the reason:
You are making a SOP. This will be used by many at various times and can be quoted for any further communication. This could remain in use long after you leave the organization, and someone else may be in charge and likely more reference documents could be added. You are also careful enough to number the main section viz 6.0.
With everything correct said in the above posts, consider the same logic of numbering even if the numbered line is a reference and not any description statement.... like.,

6.0 Reference Documents:
6.1 xxyyxx
6.2 yyzzaa
Yes, you can do it however you want, but that does not mean it is a "best practice". In some fields they are not even allowed in documents (e.g. Many legal documents, most aerospace documents, etc.). Can you imagine the issues which would come up if, for example, ISO documents such as ISO 9001 used bullet points instead of ordered lists?

Having written documentation of all kinds since the 1980s, I would never use bullet points in documents other than in Powerpoint Presentations or forum posts.
 
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