Method dour creep deployed (9)
I believe the answer is:
procedure
'method' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'dour creep deployed' is the wordplay.
'deployed' indicates an anagram.
'dour'+'creep'='dourcreep'
'dourcreep' with letters rearranged gives 'PROCEDURE'.
(Other definitions for procedure that I've seen before include "Routine" , "Action taken" , "sequence of actions" , "Set sequence of events to achieve a result" , "Established way of doing something" .)