The Origins and Features of Wardley Mapping
Simon Wardley created Wardley Mapping in 2005, while he was CEO of Fotango, as a way to see the landscape his business was competing in. This guide covers where the method came from and its core parts: the value chain, evolution, climate, doctrine, gameplay, and flows.
Where Mapping Came From
Mapping grew out of practical problems Wardley faced running businesses. He has published the method openly: his book, Wardley Maps, is free to read online under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 4.0), so others can build on it as long as they credit him and share their work on the same terms.
Fotango
Wardley created mapping in 2005 as CEO of Fotango, an online photo service. He wanted a way to see the landscape his company was in, so that he could explain why it should act in one place rather than another.
Canonical
He went on to Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, where he worked on its cloud computing strategy and continued to use mapping.
Leading Edge Forum
As a researcher at the Leading Edge Forum (LEF), he continued to develop mapping and to research how organisations compete.
The Two Axes of a Map
A Wardley Map places components on two axes. For fuller definitions of these and other terms, see the Wardley Mapping glossary linked at the foot of this page.
Value Chain (Vertical)
Start with a user and their need, then add the components needed to meet it, each placed below the things that depend on it. The higher a component sits, the more visible it is to the user.
Evolution (Horizontal)
Place each component by how evolved it is. Supply and demand competition drives evolution, which is measured by how widespread and how well understood a component is, not by time.
Stages of Evolution
Components move from left to right through four stages as competition evolves them.
Genesis
The novel and uncertain: new, rare, and poorly understood. You explore, expect failure, and can't yet write a specification.
Custom-Built
Made individually for a specific context. Still changing fast and still being learned about, so no two are quite alike.
Product (+rental)
Made repeatably and sold or rented. Increasingly well understood, with competition on features.
Commodity (+utility)
Standard, well defined, and widely available, often as a utility service. Competition is on price and reliability, and users only notice it when it fails.
Climate, Doctrine, and Gameplay
Once you have a map, three sets of patterns help you use it. Wardley brings them together, with your purpose and the landscape itself, in the strategy cycle.
Climate
Patterns that act on every landscape whatever you do, such as everything evolving through supply and demand competition. You can't choose them, but you can anticipate them.
Doctrine
Principles that work whatever the landscape, such as focusing on user needs and removing duplication. They help you avoid unforced errors.
Gameplay
Context-specific moves you can make to change the landscape in your favour, such as using an open approach to speed up the evolution of a component.
Flows
A map can also show flows of capital between components, such as money, physical goods, risk, information, and social capital. Following a flow shows you where value moves through the value chain and where it gets stuck.
What You Can Use Mapping For
Build, Buy, or Rent
Decide which components to build yourself and which to buy as products or use as utilities, based on how evolved each one is.
Find Duplication
Compare maps from different teams to find the same thing being built several times.
Anticipate Change
Spot components that are about to become utilities, and the inertia that will resist the change.
Create a Common Language
Give people with different skills one picture to discuss, so that disagreements are about something specific.
The Limits of a Map
All maps are imperfect. A map helps you communicate, learn, challenge assumptions, and build a shared understanding, but it won't tell you what to do. Mapping is also a skill: you get better at it by practising, and your first maps will be rough.
Related
Sources
- Adapted from Simon Wardley, Wardley Maps, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Material adapted from these sources is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.