Understanding Technology
Strategy with Wardley Maps
Will Hamill
@willhamill
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How does an organisation create its
strategy, and why does it make the
decisions that it makes?
Why invest in AI, or move to the cloud,
or create an open API based platform?
Why build vs buy this component?
@willhamill
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@willhamill
Icons by Freepik on flaticon.com
Meme copying
Magic quadrant
HiPPO
FOMO
How It's
Made
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
Interest in
building a
blockchain
Don't
currently have
a blockchain
Could build
a blockchain
Other people
might build a
blockchain
@willhamill
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So we need to see the bigger picture!
@willhamill
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Wardley Maps can be used
to illustrate the 'why' and
help you make decisions
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Helping visualise the 'why' and the
'how' of choices we make
Tying choices back to a goal and
showing the landscape
Grounding strategic decisions in
context and justification
@willhamill
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Use Wardley Maps at strategic level
Or use them at a lower level
@willhamill
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A Wardley Map shows visually:
• components or activities underpinning a user need
• state of maturity of technology evolution
• options for movement
‣ opportunities for disruption
‣ threats from commoditisation
‣ potential blockers
• how movement affects other parts of the map
@willhamill
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Let's make a Wardley Map
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1. Start with user needs
2. Break into value chain of components,
subcomponents and dependencies
3. Estimate maturity of components
Drawing a Wardley Map
@willhamill
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User Need:
We get thousands of customer surveys
completed each week and I want to be
able to find out from the feedback what
we should change in the product
@willhamill
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Proposed technical solution:
Mine feedback from survey data using a
containerised Python app integrating
with an NLP library and add sentiment
analysis on top.
@willhamill
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1. Start with user needs
2. Break into value chain of components,
subcomponents and dependencies
3. Estimate maturity of components
Drawing a Wardley Map
@willhamill
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Mine user feedback
Survey platform
Feedback processing service
Sentiment analysis
NLP app
Data storage
Compute platform
Cluster orchestration
Kubernetes master
Worker nodes
Virtual Machines
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1. Start with user needs
2. Break into value chain of components,
subcomponents and dependencies
3. Estimate maturity of components
Drawing a Wardley Map
@willhamill
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One constant in technology is
evolution of a new invention
from innovation to commodity
@willhamill
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Using the map
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@willhamill
Identify potential future changes
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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@willhamill
Identify inertia against change
and potential accelerators
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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Genesis Custom Built Product/Rental Commodity/Utility
Evolution
Visibility
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@willhamill
Discuss the map with others in
your business!
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Now you've got a way to show people why you've made
your decisions about the project:
What components are we going to build vs buy?
Where should we invest in training?
What should next iterations of the project focus on?
Should we turn this project into a product?
@willhamill
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Where to from here?
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All models are wrong, but
some models are useful
@willhamill
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Try mapping out part of your
business or an important project
Read some of Simon Wardley's
work for more patterns to apply
@willhamill
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Systemic approach to strategy
Visualise context, show how
movement can affect choices
Make better, justified decisions