WardleyMaps.ai

What is Wardley Mapping?

Wardley Mapping is a strategy framework created by Simon Wardley that visualises a value chain against the evolution of its components. It provides situational awareness for decision-making by plotting user needs against the four stages of evolution: genesis, custom-built, product (and rental), and commodity (and utility).

Who created Wardley Mapping?

Simon Wardley created Wardley Mapping in 2005 while serving as CEO of an online photo service. The technique grew out of his attempts to apply strategic thinking to his own business and has since been adopted across government, technology, and enterprise sectors. All of his work is published under Creative Commons.

What are the components of a Wardley Map?

A Wardley Map has two axes: the y-axis represents the value chain (anchor at the top, typically a user need, with components becoming less visible as you go down), and the x-axis represents evolution from genesis through custom-built, product, to commodity. Components are connected by lines that show dependency relationships.

What is doctrine in Wardley Mapping?

Doctrine refers to a set of universal principles that apply regardless of context. Examples include "focus on user needs", "use a common language", "challenge assumptions", "remove duplication and bias", and "think small (as in teams)". Doctrine is organised into phases of adoption and categories such as communication, development, learning, and structure.

What are climatic patterns?

Climatic patterns are the forces acting on the strategic landscape that you cannot stop but can learn to anticipate. They include patterns like "everything evolves", "efficiency enables innovation", "no choice over evolution", and "capital flows to new areas of value". They help strategists predict how components and competitors will behave.

How does Wardley Mapping relate to AI strategy?

Wardley Mapping is particularly useful for AI strategy because it helps you identify which AI capabilities are evolving toward commodity (such as foundation models), which remain custom-built, and where genuine differentiation can be created. It supports decisions about build-versus-buy, vendor lock-in, and where to invest in pioneers, settlers, and town planners.