I'm no expert and not a native speaker, but I would use "sortir" for "going out" and "partir" for "departing". So I would use "sortir" if I were talking about leaving my house to go out for the evening, and I would use "partir" if I were talking about starting a journey. With "sortir", maybe I was in a building, and I am going out of that building. With "partir", maybe I am telling you my departure time. I hope that's right!
And if it is, for a mnemonic, remember that "partir" and "depart" have "part" in common.