Wardley Map Template

Wardley Map: [Strategic question] for [Organisation]

Strategy document built around one Wardley map: the user and the need that anchor it, the value chain of components that meets the need, an evolution assessment for each component, the expected movement and the forces behind it, inertia, the options and gameplay considered, a doctrine check, and the decision with signposts for review. Wardley mapping was created by Simon Wardley, who published his book Wardley Maps under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence; this template uses the method's concept names only and is written in original words. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

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Contents

1. Strategic question and scope
2. Users and needs
3. Value chain
4. Evolution assessment
5. The map
6. Movement and forces
7. Inertia and constraints
8. Options and gameplay
9. Doctrine check
10. Decision and plan
11. Assumptions, risks and signposts
12. Glossary and references

1. Strategic question and scope

1.1 Question

[One sentence. It should name a choice, a scope and a time horizon.]

Example: Kestrelmoor Freight runs 420 trucks across three regions and sells next-day pallet delivery to business shippers. Its route planning is a ten-year-old in-house tool that two engineers maintain. The board asks whether to rebuild route optimisation, buy a product, or hand planning to a fourth-party logistics (4PL) platform within 24 months.

1.2 Scope and horizon

1.3 Why a map

A Wardley map places the components that serve a user need on two dimensions: how visible each component is to the user (the vertical position, following the chain of needs from top to bottom) and how evolved it is (the horizontal position, from novel to commodity). The map shows context that a list or a slide cannot: which components are moving, which ones are dragging, where a choice about one component constrains another, and where the organisation is investing in the wrong kind of work. Use it when the question involves sourcing, timing, investment or competitive position. Do not use it as a system architecture diagram; the C4 model or a reference architecture serve that purpose better (architecture/c4-architecture, architecture/reference-architecture).

2. Users and needs

The anchor is the user at the top of the map. Choose the user whose need the strategic question serves. Some maps need two anchors, for example the shipper and the regulator; keep it to two at most.

Keep needs as outcomes. "A route optimisation engine" is a component, not a need; "deliveries arrive in the promised window" is a need.

3. Value chain

3.1 Components

A component can be an activity, a practice, data or knowledge. Give each one a stable ID so movement and decisions can refer to it.

3.2 Value chain diagram

The diagram shows dependency direction only (a component points to what it needs). The map in section 5 adds the evolution dimension.

4. Evolution assessment

4.1 Stages used in this template

The evolution axis runs from left (novel) to right (commodity). The four stage names below are the ones commonly used in Wardley mapping for activities. The numeric bands are a drawing convention used by this template and by common mapping tools, not a rule; agree the bands with the team and keep them stable between versions.

For data and knowledge, many practitioners rename the stages (for example from unmodelled to modelled data, or from concept to accepted knowledge). Use renamed stages only if everyone in the session agrees on them.

4.2 Assessment per component

4.3 Disagreements recorded

5. The map

5.1 Plotted positions

The chart plots each component at (evolution, visibility). Mermaid does not draw dependency lines or movement on a quadrant chart; read it with the value chain in section 3.2 and the movement in section 6.

5.2 Map source

Keep the map in a text format under version control. The block below uses the syntax of the open-source OnlineWardleyMaps tool, where each component is written as [visibility, evolution], -> is a dependency and evolve shows intended movement. Check the tool's documentation for the current syntax.

title Kestrelmoor Freight route planning map
anchor Business shipper [0.95, 0.63]
component Online booking [0.85, 0.62]
component Delivery time promise [0.78, 0.30]
component Pricing [0.72, 0.48]
component Route optimisation [0.58, 0.60]
component ETA prediction model [0.55, 0.28]
component Driver mobile app [0.45, 0.50]
component Maps and geocoding [0.35, 0.80]
component Vehicle telematics [0.32, 0.68]
component Shipment data platform [0.25, 0.58]
component Compute and storage [0.10, 0.92]
Business shipper->Online booking
Business shipper->Delivery time promise
Business shipper->Pricing
Online booking->Pricing
Online booking->Shipment data platform
Pricing->Shipment data platform
Delivery time promise->Route optimisation
Delivery time promise->ETA prediction model
Delivery time promise->Vehicle telematics
Route optimisation->Maps and geocoding
Route optimisation->Driver mobile app
ETA prediction model->Vehicle telematics
ETA prediction model->Shipment data platform
Maps and geocoding->Compute and storage
Vehicle telematics->Compute and storage
Driver mobile app->Compute and storage
Shipment data platform->Compute and storage
evolve Delivery time promise 0.45
evolve Vehicle telematics 0.78
inertia Route optimisation

5.3 First reading

Write three to five observations that the map makes visible. Each one should point at a component ID.

• Example: The differentiating need (NEED-002) depends on two custom-built components (CMP-02, CMP-05) and on CMP-04 and CMP-07, which are at the product stage. The company spends most engineering effort on CMP-04, the product, and none on CMP-05, the custom-built component that would make the promise reliable.
• Example: Compute (CMP-10) is a commodity run on leased racks. That ties two operations staff to undifferentiated work.
• Example: Telematics (CMP-07) is moving towards commodity; feeds are standard, which lowers the cost of the data that CMP-05 needs.

6. Movement and forces

Components evolve from left to right as supply and demand competition spread them. Wardley calls the recurring forces that act on every map "climatic patterns"; the published catalogue is long, and this template names only the handful a team most often needs. Read the source for the full set and describe the forces in your own words.

Points to consider for each component:

• Commoditisation: as a component becomes a commodity, new higher order components become possible on top of it.
• Co-evolution of practice: when an activity becomes a utility, the way people work with it changes too (for example, operations practice changed when compute became a utility).
• Efficiency enabling new demand: a cheaper component often raises total consumption rather than lowering total spend.
• Competitor moves: a competitor or supplier can accelerate the evolution of a component, for example by releasing it as open source.

7. Inertia and constraints

Constraints that are not inertia (legal, safety, budget) belong here too. Name the source and its date; for regulated subjects, check the current official text and a qualified professional.

8. Options and gameplay

8.1 Options

The method also catalogues deliberate moves, called gameplays (for example using open approaches to speed up commoditisation, or building on a utility to free effort for novel work). Describe each option in your own words and name any gameplay it relies on.

8.2 Cost over the horizon

8.3 Comparison

Scores run from 1 (poor) to 5 (strong). The weighted score is the sum of weight times score, divided by 100. Agree weights before scoring.

The score supports the discussion; it does not replace it. If the result depends on one weight, show the sensitivity and record it.

9. Doctrine check

Wardley describes doctrine as universal principles that help any organisation regardless of its map, grouped in phases. Read the published list at the source and assess yourself against it. The table below uses short, original paraphrases of common themes; extend it with the principles that matter for your question.

10. Decision and plan

10.1 Decision

Example: O2 approved. Route optimisation and compute are sourced by their stage (product and utility); engineering effort moves to the ETA prediction model, the custom-built component behind the differentiating need. Recorded as ADR-031.

10.2 Sourcing per component

10.3 First moves

11. Assumptions, risks and signposts

11.1 Traceability

12. Glossary and references

12.1 Glossary

12.2 References

Standard and licence note

Structure aligned with the Wardley mapping method created by Simon Wardley and described in his book Wardley Maps, which he published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). This template uses only the method's concept names (map, anchor, value chain, visibility, evolution and its four stage names, inertia, climatic patterns, gameplay and doctrine). It does not reproduce the book's text, figures, the evolution cheat sheet, the list of climatic patterns, the gameplay catalogue or the doctrine table; every explanation, table and example here is original, so the ShareAlike condition does not attach to this template. If you adapt text or figures from the book into your own copy, attribute Simon Wardley and release those adapted parts under CC BY-SA 4.0. The numeric evolution bands are a drawing convention of this template, not part of the method. Kestrelmoor Freight is fictional. Check the current edition of the book at learnwardleymapping.com before use. Template licence: MIT.