Well-written policies and procedures have four points to them as the heading above shows. We'lll start with the audience and work through to brevity.
Audience
All policies and procedures are directed at an organizational audience. Some policies are to be read by very technical people and others are not. When writing the policies and procedures, ensure that you have the correct audience in mind. And when I say audience, I mean the whole audience that the policy and procedures apply to. That means going through the responsibilities matrix and looking at the various roles of people who are not only directly responsible, but who also have to be consulted with and informed about the procedures. Which means that if part of your audience are third party people who are outside your organization, check your jargon to ensure you aren't using terminology that isn't universal and is only used within your organization. It also means that you need to know the geographic locations for your policies. Terms commonly used in one part of the world may mean something completely different in different part of the world, and may actually be inappropriate or offensive.
Logic
Will the reader be able to follow your train of thought? Or as one of my earlier editors used to say "is your writing linear, or does it loop around like a whirligig?" If you are wondering, linear is good, a whirligig is bad.
Most of your writing is going to be process writing, meaning that you are walking the reader step-by-step through a series of actions. The best way to check your logic is to have a flow chart of the process in front of you and then match the writing steps to the flow chart. If the paragraphs and sentences of the text follow the sequence of the flow chart, then your logic is solid.
Brevity
Is your writing short and concise? Because that's what brevity means. In terms of writing policies and procedures, it means that you are supplying details in proportion to their importance.
Brevity is the sign of a well-organized mind, writes William Zinsser in Writing to Learn. In writing, remember that short is normally better than long. Your readers need to do something with your policies and procedures, not just read them.