Wardley Map
Map value chain components by evolution and visibility.
Wardley Mapping plots value chain components on evolution (genesis → custom → product → commodity) and visibility to users. It guides build-vs-buy and strategic timing.
Teams commodity-build differentiators or outsource poorly. Wardley maps clarify what to innovate vs integrate.
Tech strategy, platform decisions, partnership planning. After market drivers, before tech solution canvas.
- Draw user need at top.
- Chain components to fulfil need.
- Position each on evolution axis.
- Mark movement direction.
- Decide in-house, partner, or buy per component.
- Clear anchor user need.
- Components granular enough to decide.
- Movement arrows justified.
- Pretty diagram without decisions.
- Wrong evolution labels.
- Ignoring inertia and capital constraints.
Northvale Systems Wardley: identity verification moving to product; custom plant workflows still genesis — buy commodity OCR, build governance layer.
PulseWell mapped analytics engine toward product, HRIS connectors toward commodity — partner for integrations, invest in risk models.
Harbor Consulting mapped on-site facilitation as custom, video SOP library moving to product — hired editor to productise.
Clearwater Initiative Wardley: SMS gateways commodity; community training genesis; rapid test kits moving to product — invest in training, rent telco APIs.
/market wardley-table, IDs WAR-01. Feeds /tech tech solution canvas.
Related techniques
Sources & further reading
- Wardley, S. (2016). Wardley Maps. self-published / Medium canon.