--- name: work-instruction description: "Major steps, each with a key point for how to do it right and the reason it matters — the classic job-instruction shape, so a routing rule or a new process actually works the same way no matter who's running it. Use 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 for: 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 Makigami 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." --- # Work instruction Major steps, each with a key point for how to do it right and the reason it matters — the classic job-instruction shape, so a routing rule or a new process actually works the same way no matter who's running it. Family: Standard work · Format: .xlsx · Domain: core ## 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. ## When to use it 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 Makigami 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. ## How to fill it in - **purpose** — What does this task accomplish and why does it matter? - **steps** — 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. ## 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. Full worked example, on-screen and as a downloadable .xlsx: https://www.katafacts.com/katas/work-instruction ## 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. ## What it connects to Upstream: - **Kaizen event charter** (`kaizen-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: - **Training matrix with I, L, U, O skill levels (ILUO)** (`iluo-training-matrix`) — Once a work instruction exists, the ILUO matrix tracks who's actually been trained on it. ## Where AI helps Judgement — stays with you: - 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 --- Work instruction 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/work-instruction.