Devising a taxonomy for visual management requirements by considering different purposes and contexts

Visual Management (VM) refers to a sensory system designed to provide information that guides people’s actions. VM comprises practices supported by devices that work together through shared conventions tailored to the context. VM is used to serve different purposes, e.g. prevent mistakes, promote team collaboration, or detect deviations in production systems. Although VM has evolved organically in practice, currently no comprehensive conceptual framework exist that links its purposes, contexts, and requirements. Such a framework would help to develop efficient and effective VM practices. Accordingly, the aim of the research presented in this paper was to devise a taxonomy of VM requirements by considering different purposes and contexts. To develop the taxonomy, secondary data of three case studies were used in an iterative process to refine the definitions of different requirements and organise them into categories. The contribution to theory is the synthesis of different conceptualisations of VM to overcome fragmentation in existing knowledge. The contribution to practice is a taxonomy that can guide assessments of VM practices and devices aiding in the design of new VM systems.