The SOUP principle

SOUP is modeled on the SOAP Acronym used by Doctors

The Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan (SOAP) note is an acronym representing a widely used method of documentation for healthcare providers. The SOAP note is a way for healthcare workers to document in a structured and organized way.

This widely adopted structural SOAP note was theorized by Larry Weed almost 50 years ago. It reminds clinicians of specific tasks while providing a framework for evaluating information. It also provides a cognitive framework for clinical reasoning. The SOAP note helps guide healthcare workers use their clinical reasoning to assess, diagnose, and treat a patient based on the information provided by them. SOAP notes are an essential piece of information about the health status of the patient as well as a communication document between health professionals. The structure of documentation is a checklist that serves as a cognitive aid and a potential index to retrieve information for learning from the record.

SOUP stands for:

Subjective, Objective, Understanding and Plan.

It is based on understanding basic principles as applied to the problem or project.

For instance: 

A problem with a smelling head needs understanding of aerobic and unaerobic waste decomposition and basic plumbing principles.

A noise problem needs understanding of how sound is transmitted.