--- name: andon-signal-definition description: "What each visual signal means, what response it triggers, and who's watching for it — the escalation matrix's exact shape applied to a signal system. Use when: A team uses (or wants to use) a visual signal system — a flag, a light, a colored card — and wants everyone to agree what each one actually means. You want to catch a signal nobody's actually assigned to watch before it matters. You want a real response and escalation path for each signal, not just a color with no plan behind it. Not for: The process genuinely doesn't need visual signaling — forcing an andon system onto quiet, low-variation work adds noise." --- # Andon / signal definition worksheet What each visual signal means, what response it triggers, and who's watching for it — the escalation matrix's exact shape applied to a signal system. Family: Visual management · Format: .xlsx · Domain: core ## What it is An andon signal only works if everyone agrees what it means and who responds. This worksheet is the escalation matrix's own shape — a signal, its definition, the response it triggers, when it escalates further, and a named first responder. Describe the signals this process needs, and a real definition gets drafted for each — but who watches for it is never guessed. ## When to use it Use it when: - A team uses (or wants to use) a visual signal system — a flag, a light, a colored card — and wants everyone to agree what each one actually means. - You want to catch a signal nobody's actually assigned to watch before it matters. - You want a real response and escalation path for each signal, not just a color with no plan behind it. Not when: - The process genuinely doesn't need visual signaling — forcing an andon system onto quiet, low-variation work adds noise. ## How to fill it in - **rows** — Drafted from your signals — assign a real first responder to each row. - **narrative** — Drafted from the worksheet actually built. ## What good looks like The example below defines a three-signal system for the renewal-risk queue. Two of three signals have a named responder — Red routes straight to the queue lead — and Yellow is honestly left unassigned rather than padded with a placeholder name. Full worked example, on-screen and as a downloadable .xlsx: https://www.katafacts.com/katas/andon-signal-definition ## Common mistakes - **Defining a signal with no real response or escalation path.** — A signal with no plan behind it is just a color — the whole point is a checkable response, not a decoration. - **Naming a placeholder responder to make every signal look covered.** — A fake name hides exactly the gap a real worksheet exists to surface. ## What it connects to Upstream: - **Escalation matrix** (`escalation-matrix`) — Shares the same shape directly — a signal is a severity made visible. Downstream: - **Visual board design guide** (`visual-board-design-guide`) — Signal definitions are a natural board zone once they exist. ## Where AI helps Judgement — stays with you: - Deciding who's actually the right person to watch for a given signal - Deciding whether a drafted response is realistic given real team capacity Analysis — AI helps: - Drafting a specific signal definition, response, and escalation trigger from a rough description - Drafting the narrative from the worksheet actually built Drudgery — automated: - Counting how many signals have a named responder - Identifying which signals are still unassigned - Exporting to xlsx in the house format --- Andon / signal definition worksheet is licensed [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution: Katafacts (katafacts.com). ## Using this skill Apply this method as part of whatever broader task, instructions, or deliverable you're already working on -- it's a method to use, not a standalone conversation to start. There is no generation tool for this catalogue yet, so draft the artifact's actual content yourself, following the fields above, the same way a person filling this out by hand would. The canonical guide page and a downloadable worked example (.xlsx) are at https://www.katafacts.com/katas/andon-signal-definition.