Provided is a method and system for creating assembly instructions and using them on a computer system to direct assemblers working in a light-manufacturing environment. The assembly instructions break the assembly process into smaller elemental steps with specific instructions to be performed and verified in sequence during assembly. Each assembly instruction may identify a specific pocket in a matrix tray holding the material to be used in the assembly. Before the assembler begins assembling the manufactured product, in some embodiments, a training history is retrieved with the assembler's experience, If the assembler has fulfilled a prerequisite training sequence or equivalent from the training history, in some embodiments, assembly instructions are provided through the user interface coordinated with multimedia assembly data that guide the assembler to combine materials with the component and complete the assembly.