Standard work

Work instruction

Work instruction is licensed CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Katafacts (katafacts.com).

1 · What it is

What it is

A work instruction is the classic three-column job instruction: major steps, key points (how to do each step right — a technique, a quality check, a safety point), and the reason each key point matters. Describe the task roughly, and real steps get drafted — grounded, specific, never a step with an unexplained rule attached to it.

2 · When to use it

When to use it — and when not to

Use it when

A task needs to work the same way regardless of who's doing it — a new hire, a fill-in, or the usual owner.
A change (a new routing rule, a new process) only works if everyone actually knows the specific technique behind it, not just the headline step.
You want to see honestly which steps still have no real key point — meaning they're not yet ready to train someone on.

Not when

The task is genuinely simple enough that every step is self-explanatory — forcing key points onto a trivial task adds noise, not clarity.
You're still figuring out the process itself — map it first (a swimlane or a SIPOC), then write the instruction once it's settled.
The 'key point' would just restate the step — a real key point adds a technique or judgement call the step alone doesn't convey.

3 · How to fill it in

How to fill it in

Purpose: What does this task accomplish and why does it matter?
Steps, key points & reasons: Drafted from your task description — major steps, each with zero or more key points and, for every key point, the reason it matters. A step with no key point yet is flagged, not hidden.
Narrative: Drafted from the steps actually built.

4 · What good looks like

What good looks like

The example below instructs the exact triage task the kaizen event charter's routing rule and the sustainment audit both reference — three of four steps have a real key point and reason, and the fourth is honestly left flagged rather than padded with a made-up one.

Same example, as a downloadable xlsx workbook.

Download .xlsx

Work instruction

Triage a renewal-risk support ticket

Support — renewal-risk queue

Marcus Lee · 2026-09-20

Purpose

Ensures renewal-risk tickets get the fast, accountable response the ticket-response kaizen event set up — without this instruction, the triage routing rule and on-call rotation only work if everyone already knows the details from memory.

Steps, key points & reasons

4 steps · 4 key points

1. Confirm the ticket is tagged renewal-risk

Check the account's health score in the CRM, not just the ticket tag — Tags can be stale; the CRM health score reflects the account's current renewal risk.

2. Route to the on-call renewal-risk responder

Use the current on-call schedule, not last week's — The rotation changes weekly, and routing to the wrong person delays first response.
Confirm the responder acknowledged the assignment — A silently-routed ticket can sit unnoticed until the SLA is already missed.

3. Send the initial-response macro within the 4-hour SLA

Confirm the macro references the account's specific renewal date, not a generic placeholder — A generic response on a renewal-risk account reads as impersonal at exactly the wrong moment.

4. Log the resolution path for the weekly metrics reviewNo key point yet

Narrative

Three of four steps have a real key point grounding the technique in a specific reason. The fourth, logging the resolution path, is still just an action with no key point yet — worth adding before this instruction is used in training, not a blocker to using it now.

5 · Common mistakes

Common mistakes

Writing a key point with no reason attached.
An unexplained rule is just something to memorize — under pressure, people revert to what makes sense to them unless they understand why the rule exists.
Forcing a key point onto every step even when a step is genuinely simple.
Padding a simple step with an invented key point buries the steps that actually need careful technique under noise that doesn't.
Writing steps that are really just a restated process map, not actions a person performs.
A work instruction trains someone to do the task — a step must be something to actually do, not a category or a phase name.

6 · What it connects to

What it connects to

upstream

Kaizen event charter
A new process or routing rule set up by a kaizen event often needs a work instruction to actually stick once the event team moves on.

downstream

ILUO training matrix
Once a work instruction exists, the ILUO matrix tracks who's actually been trained on it.

7 · Where AI helps

Where AI helps

Judgement — stays yours

Deciding whether a step genuinely needs a key point or is simple enough not to
Deciding whether a drafted key point reflects real technique or is worth sharpening

Analysis — AI helps

Drafting major steps, key points, and reasons from a rough task description
Drafting the narrative from the steps actually built

Drudgery — automated

Counting steps and key points
Identifying which steps still have no key point
Exporting to xlsx in the house format

9 · Rate this kata