At Amazon, when we present a product status update, we always list our goals as Green, Yellow or Red.

When I coach clients to prepare product status updates (a modification of an Amazon tool I love) I often get many questions about how the color system works. In this piece, I will explain the system.

First and foremost, you need to understand marking a product red is not to be seen as a bad thing, it is a form of escalation. No product goes perfectly as planned. Having the system and tool sets norms and rules to allow for proper escalation.

Let’s dive in…

Green

A goal is marked green if you have every reason to believe it is still on track. If it is 6 months from being finished but you believe everything is under control, it is just as “green” (or good to go/on track) as a product that is days from launch that you believe is ready to go.

Yellow

This is a way of signaling that you are worried about something. It is a nice way to either escalate or just notify that something is up but you have it under control. There is no stigma with marking something yellow. You might hate to do it, but better to mark it yellow than to blindside leadership with a problem close to launch.

Red

This is a way of letting everyone know, the goal is in real danger of not being achieved. There is something blocking it. You NEVER want to go from Green to Red; that constitutes a blindsiding event. You should have marked something as yellow, as you saw the danger approaching.

This system allows you to keep leadership and stakeholders informed quickly and consistently.