diff --git a/test-stack/docker-compose.yml b/test-stack/docker-compose.yml
index 47b6d80..8826888 100644
--- a/test-stack/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/test-stack/docker-compose.yml
@@ -98,6 +98,9 @@ services:
       GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER: admin
       GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD: admin
       GF_USERS_ALLOW_SIGN_UP: "false"
+      # Enable anonymous access for annotation API (test-stack only)
+      GF_AUTH_ANONYMOUS_ENABLED: "true"
+      GF_AUTH_ANONYMOUS_ORG_ROLE: "Admin"
     volumes:
       - ./grafana/provisioning:/etc/grafana/provisioning:ro
       - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
diff --git a/test-stack/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/kafka-lag.json b/test-stack/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/kafka-lag.json
index 093d002..ea1a2d0 100644
--- a/test-stack/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/kafka-lag.json
+++ b/test-stack/grafana/provisioning/dashboards/kafka-lag.json
@@ -1,6 +1,43 @@
 {
   "annotations": {
-    "list": []
+    "list": [
+      {
+        "builtIn": 1,
+        "datasource": {
+          "type": "grafana",
+          "uid": "-- Grafana --"
+        },
+        "enable": true,
+        "hide": false,
+        "iconColor": "rgba(0, 211, 255, 1)",
+        "name": "Producer Phases",
+        "target": {
+          "limit": 100,
+          "matchAny": true,
+          "tags": ["producer"],
+          "type": "tags"
+        },
+        "type": "dashboard"
+      },
+      {
+        "builtIn": 1,
+        "datasource": {
+          "type": "grafana",
+          "uid": "-- Grafana --"
+        },
+        "enable": true,
+        "hide": false,
+        "iconColor": "rgba(255, 96, 96, 1)",
+        "name": "Consumer Phases",
+        "target": {
+          "limit": 100,
+          "matchAny": true,
+          "tags": ["consumer"],
+          "type": "tags"
+        },
+        "type": "dashboard"
+      }
+    ]
   },
   "editable": true,
   "fiscalYearStartMonth": 0,
@@ -1300,8 +1337,8 @@
   },
   "timepicker": {},
   "timezone": "",
-  "title": "Kafka Consumer Lag",
-  "uid": "kafka-lag-dashboard",
+  "title": "Kafka Consumer Lag (with Phase Annotations)",
+  "uid": "kafka-lag-dashboard-test",
   "version": 1,
   "weekStart": ""
 }
diff --git a/test-stack/scripts/consumer.sh b/test-stack/scripts/consumer.sh
index c42e28d..424b79d 100755
--- a/test-stack/scripts/consumer.sh
+++ b/test-stack/scripts/consumer.sh
@@ -7,10 +7,21 @@ BOOTSTRAP_SERVER="kafka:29092"
 TOPIC1="test-topic"
 TOPIC2="high-volume-topic"
 GROUP_ID="test-consumer-group"
+GRAFANA_URL="http://grafana:3000"
 
 # Message counter
 MSG_COUNT=0
 
+# Function to create Grafana annotation for phase visibility
+annotate() {
+    local text="$1"
+    local tags="$2"
+    curl -s -X POST "$GRAFANA_URL/api/annotations" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        -d "{\"text\": \"$text\", \"tags\": [$tags]}" \
+        2>/dev/null || true  # Don't fail if Grafana isn't ready
+}
+
 echo "Starting consumer with consumer group: $GROUP_ID"
 echo "This consumer runs slower than producer to create observable lag"
 
@@ -41,30 +52,37 @@ consume_with_rate() {
 
 while true; do
     # Phase 1: Slow consumption (creates lag buildup)
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 1: Slow consumption (lag building)" "\"consumer\", \"phase1\", \"slow\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 1: Slow consumption - 5 msg with 0.5s delay each"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC1 $GROUP_ID 5 0.5
 
     # Phase 2: Medium consumption
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 2: Medium consumption" "\"consumer\", \"phase2\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 2: Medium consumption - 20 msg with 0.2s delay each"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC1 $GROUP_ID 20 0.2
 
     # Phase 3: Fast catch-up
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 3: Fast catch-up" "\"consumer\", \"phase3\", \"catchup\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 3: Fast catch-up - 50 msg with 0.05s delay each"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC1 $GROUP_ID 50 0.05
 
     # Phase 4: Consume from high-volume topic (different consumer group)
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 4: High-volume topic consumption" "\"consumer\", \"phase4\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 4: High-volume topic consumption"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC2 "high-volume-consumer" 30 0.1
 
     # Phase 5: Pause (lag builds up)
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 5: Pause for 30s (lag building)" "\"consumer\", \"phase5\", \"pause\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 5: Consumer pause for 30s (lag building)"
     sleep 30
 
     # Phase 6: Burst consumption
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 6: Burst consumption" "\"consumer\", \"phase6\", \"burst\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 6: Burst consumption - 100 msg with minimal delay"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC1 $GROUP_ID 100 0.01
 
     # Phase 7: Both topics
+    annotate "Consumer Phase 7: Both topics consumption" "\"consumer\", \"phase7\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 7: Both topics consumption"
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC1 $GROUP_ID 20 0.1 &
     consume_with_rate $TOPIC2 "high-volume-consumer" 40 0.05 &
diff --git a/test-stack/scripts/producer.sh b/test-stack/scripts/producer.sh
index a89e122..0411b0b 100755
--- a/test-stack/scripts/producer.sh
+++ b/test-stack/scripts/producer.sh
@@ -6,10 +6,21 @@
 BOOTSTRAP_SERVER="kafka:29092"
 TOPIC1="test-topic"
 TOPIC2="high-volume-topic"
+GRAFANA_URL="http://grafana:3000"
 
 # Message counter
 MSG_COUNT=0
 
+# Function to create Grafana annotation for phase visibility
+annotate() {
+    local text="$1"
+    local tags="$2"
+    curl -s -X POST "$GRAFANA_URL/api/annotations" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        -d "{\"text\": \"$text\", \"tags\": [$tags]}" \
+        2>/dev/null || true  # Don't fail if Grafana isn't ready
+}
+
 # Function to produce messages
 produce_messages() {
     local topic=$1
@@ -34,30 +45,36 @@ echo "This will create lag patterns observable in Grafana"
 
 while true; do
     # Phase 1: Steady low rate (10 msg/sec for 30 seconds)
+    annotate "Producer Phase 1: Low rate 10 msg/sec for 30s" "\"producer\", \"phase1\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 1: Low rate - 10 msg/sec for 30s"
     for ((j=1; j<=30; j++)); do
         produce_messages $TOPIC1 10 0.1
     done
 
     # Phase 2: Burst - high volume (100 messages quickly)
+    annotate "Producer Phase 2: Burst 100 messages to test-topic" "\"producer\", \"phase2\", \"burst\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 2: Burst - 100 messages to $TOPIC1"
     produce_messages $TOPIC1 100 0.01
 
     # Phase 3: High volume topic burst
+    annotate "Producer Phase 3: High volume burst 200 messages" "\"producer\", \"phase3\", \"burst\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 3: High volume burst - 200 messages to $TOPIC2"
     produce_messages $TOPIC2 200 0.005
 
     # Phase 4: Steady medium rate (20 msg/sec for 30 seconds)
+    annotate "Producer Phase 4: Medium rate 20 msg/sec for 30s" "\"producer\", \"phase4\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 4: Medium rate - 20 msg/sec for 30s"
     for ((j=1; j<=30; j++)); do
         produce_messages $TOPIC1 20 0.05
     done
 
     # Phase 5: Pause (let consumer catch up)
+    annotate "Producer Phase 5: Pause for 20s (consumer catch-up)" "\"producer\", \"phase5\", \"pause\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 5: Pause for 20s (consumer catch-up)"
     sleep 20
 
     # Phase 6: Multi-topic burst
+    annotate "Producer Phase 6: Multi-topic burst" "\"producer\", \"phase6\", \"burst\""
     echo "[$(date)] Phase 6: Multi-topic burst"
     produce_messages $TOPIC1 50 0.02 &
     produce_messages $TOPIC2 100 0.01 &