Wardley Map Creation Skill

Wardley Map Creation Skill

Create Wardley Maps to visualize value chains and component evolution for strategic planning.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Wardley Map Creation tasks - Working on create wardley maps from value chains and user needs
• Planning or design - Need guidance on Wardley Map Creation approaches
• Best practices - Want to follow established patterns and standards

MANDATORY: Documentation-First Approach

Before creating Wardley Maps:

1. Invoke docs-management skill for mapping patterns
2. Verify Wardley mapping methodology via MCP servers (perplexity)
3. Base guidance on Simon Wardley's original methodology

Wardley Map Fundamentals

Wardley Map Structure:

                    VISIBLE TO USER
    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │  User Need                                                │
    │    ○                                                      │
    │     \                                                     │
    │      ○ Component A                                        │
    │       \                                                   │
    │        ○ Component B ──── ○ Component C                   │
    │         \                  \                              │
    │          ○ Component D      ○ Component E                 │
    │                              \                            │
    │                               ○ Component F               │
    │                                                           │
    └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    INVISIBLE TO USER

    ◄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────►
    Genesis      Custom-Built      Product/​Rental      Commodity
    (I)          (II)              (III)               (IV)

    EVOLUTION AXIS ──────────────────────────────────────────────►

Evolution Stages

Evolution Properties

Properties Change Along Evolution Axis:

                Genesis ────────────────────────► Commodity

Ubiquity:       Rare ──────────────────────────► Everywhere
Certainty:      Uncertain ─────────────────────► Certain
Failure:        High ──────────────────────────► Low
Market:         Undefined ─────────────────────► Defined
Knowledge:      Uncertain ─────────────────────► Known
User perception: Chaotic ──────────────────────► Ordered
Focus:          Exploration ───────────────────► Exploitation

Map Creation Process

Step 1: Identify User Need

Start with the user's actual need (not a solution):

Good User Needs:
- "I need to process customer payments"
- "I need to communicate with my team"
- "I need to deploy software to production"

Bad (Solution-focused):
- "I need Stripe" (solution, not need)
- "I need Slack" (solution, not need)
- "I need Kubernetes" (solution, not need)

Step 2: Build Value Chain

Work backwards from user need to dependencies:

Example: E-commerce Platform

User Need: "Buy products online"
    │
    ├── Product Catalog
    │       ├── Search
    │       ├── Product Data
    │       └── Images
    │
    ├── Shopping Cart
    │       ├── Session Management
    │       └── Pricing Engine
    │
    ├── Checkout
    │       ├── Payment Processing
    │       ├── Address Validation
    │       └── Tax Calculation
    │
    └── Order Fulfillment
            ├── Inventory
            ├── Shipping
            └── Notifications

Step 3: Position Components

Place each component on the evolution axis:

Step 4: Add Dependencies

Draw links showing dependencies:

Dependency Rules:
- Higher components depend on lower
- Arrows flow down and to the right
- Visible components near top
- Infrastructure components near bottom

Step 5: Annotate Movement

Add evolution indicators:

Movement Notation:
○────► Moving right (commoditizing)
○◄──── Moving left (rare, usually wrong)
○ ∿ ∿ Inertia (resistance to change)
○ !! Warning/​concern

Wardley Map in Mermaid (Approximate)

%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#fff', 'lineColor': '#333'}}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph visible["Visible to User"]
        UN["User Need: Buy Products"]
        PC["Product Catalog"]
        SC["Shopping Cart"]
        CO["Checkout"]
    end

    subgraph invisible["Invisible to User"]
        SE["Search"]
        PP["Payment Processing"]
        DB["Database"]
        CL["Cloud Compute"]
    end

    UN --> PC
    UN --> SC
    UN --> CO
    PC --> SE
    PC --> DB
    SC --> DB
    CO --> PP
    PP --> CL
    SE --> CL
    DB --> CL

    classDef genesis fill:#f9f,stroke:#333
    classDef custom fill:#fcf,stroke:#333
    classDef product fill:#cfc,stroke:#333
    classDef commodity fill:#ccf,stroke:#333

Text-Based Map Notation

For precise Wardley Maps, use Online Wardley Maps (OWM) notation:

title E-commerce Platform

anchor User [0.95, 0.70]
component Product Catalog [0.82, 0.65] label [-10, -10]
component Shopping Cart [0.75, 0.55] label [10, -10]
component Checkout [0.70, 0.60] label [10, 10]
component Search [0.60, 0.85] label [-10, -10]
component Payment Processing [0.45, 0.90] label [-20, 10]
component Database [0.35, 0.75] label [10, 10]
component Cloud Compute [0.20, 0.95] label [-10, 10]

User->Product Catalog
User->Shopping Cart
User->Checkout
Product Catalog->Search
Product Catalog->Database
Shopping Cart->Database
Checkout->Payment Processing
Payment Processing->Cloud Compute
Search->Cloud Compute
Database->Cloud Compute

evolve Payment Processing 0.95

note Custom pricing engine at 0.55, 0.35 [business differentiator]

Component Positioning Guide

Visibility (Y-axis)

Evolution (X-axis)

Common Mapping Patterns

Pioneer-Settler-Town Planner

Pioneers: Genesis → Custom
- Explore new territory
- High failure tolerance
- Focus on innovation

Settlers: Custom → Product
- Take pioneer discoveries
- Make them useful
- Focus on product-market fit

Town Planners: Product → Commodity
- Industrialize at scale
- Focus on efficiency
- Volume and margins

Identifying Anchors

Anchor: User needs or market expectations that don't change

Good anchors:
- "Communicate with customers" (stable need)
- "Process transactions" (stable need)

Bad anchors:
- "Use email" (solution, will evolve)
- "Use SQL database" (technology, will evolve)

Workflow

When creating Wardley Maps:

1. Start with Purpose: What decision are you trying to make?
2. Identify Users: Who are you mapping for?
3. Define Needs: What do users actually need?
4. Build Chain: Map components from need to dependencies
5. Position Components: Place on evolution axis
6. Add Movement: Show evolution direction
7. Identify Opportunities: Find strategic options
8. Iterate: Maps improve with understanding

Output Template

# Wardley Map: [Context]

## Purpose
[What strategic question is this map answering?]

## Scope
[What boundaries define this map?]

## User Need
[The anchor need at the top of the map]

## Map
[OWM notation or diagram]

## Key Components

| Component | Position | Evolution | Notes |
|-----------|----------|-----------|-------|
| [Name] | [y, x] | [stage] | [observations] |

## Movement
[Components evolving and direction]

## Strategic Observations
[What the map reveals]

## Questions Raised
[What needs further exploration]

References

For detailed guidance:

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Last Updated: 2025-12-26