Patterns & Basic Tools

Stuff that I use

When mapping, there are some basic tools and patterns that I use regularly. At some point, I will get around to updating the book, probably when I retire. I’ve tried to put them in order of usefulness, key with mapping is keep it simple.

A Wardley map

Start with users, focus on user needs, work out the supply chain and ask how evolved the components are. Please note that this is recursive i.e. every component can be a map itself. You can go from a nation to the individual or from a business to the code. There are no fixed layers, so you bring whatever you need onto the map i.e. mixing social systems with individual code components is fine.

Maps are almost entirely produced in collaboration with others. This can vary from a couple of people drawing lines on a whiteboard to large online groups dissecting an entire industry from multiple perspectives.

Please note, there is no time axis on a map. Instead each map has a time and perspective from which it is written. At a minimum, record the time. Useful for creating a shared understanding, enabling communication and encouraging challenge.

THE REST

It’s worth stating that stopping here and going no further is fine. Mapping should be simple and just being able to explain users, user needs, the supply chain of components and how evolved those components are is more than enough for most. The rest of this list can be ignored.

Some things to note:-

1. Always remember that maps are imperfect representations of a landscape — in fact, they have to be in order to be useful.
2. The work is all creative commons share alike.
3. The work is only 20 years old. Our geographical brethren took a long time to learn how to map their landscapes, so think of mapping as still in its infancy.
4. There are no certified mapping courses or blessed mappers or official T-Shirts or any of that nonsense. All that exists are people with better maps. We are all still learning.

That said, we will continue with the list which provides things you might want to think about or explore.

Cheat Sheet

Useful in helping to determine how evolved something is. This comes from the original text analysis that created the evolution curve that became the evolution axis of a Wardley map. If you can’t resolve an argument it normally means the component represents multiple components and you need to subdivide. Useful for creating consensus on the map.

Strategy Cycle

Basically, the underlying framework for mapping. The three basic forms of patterns are climatic patterns, doctrine and leadership. Useful for understanding how this all fits together.

Climatic Table

These are the rules of the game. They happen to the map regardless of what you do because they are driven by aggregate forces (e.g. supply and demand competition). Useful for anticipating changes.

Doctrine Table

The list of universally useful principles that have come out of mapping. You don’t have to use them but I would suggest you should. You can also map out principles and the interconnections between them. Doing this enabled me to create the different phases. Start with phase I as the phase II principles will need them. Useful for organising companies.

Leadership table

This is a list of some of the basic gameplay patterns you can use on a map. Don’t start here, start with focusing on observing your landscape. Useful for manipulating markets.

Inertia table

Some of the climatic and doctrine patterns deal with inertia. There are many different forms. This is a handy guide. Useful for managing and thinking about inertia.

Methods analysis

It’s one of the principles found in the doctrine table but it comes up so often that it’s worth calling out. Useful for challenging all those “one size fits” all approaches across project methods, purchasing and finance.

Contract analysis

More a technique but incredibly useful. Take a contract (and its related architectural diagrams) and then map it. Most contracts I come across are fundamentally flawed mixing in things which can’t be specified into specifications. Useful for stopping massive cost overruns before the contract is even signed.

Profile diagrams.

If you have enough maps in an organisation, then it’s not uncommon to create a profile diagram (by taking various nodes from different maps). Useful in discussions on bias and duplication.

Flow analysis

There are two forms of flow on a Wardley map. Evolutionary flow (e.g. industrialisation of components) and capital flow (whether financial, knowedge or any other form of capital). The lines represent bi-directional flows of capital i.e. revenue for a cup of tea. Useful for aligning the map with existing capital flows and often discovery of missing parts.

Axis table

From the cheat sheet — you don’t have to use genesis, custom built, product and commodity as the labels. You can mix and match, for example when mapping out ethical values I use the following. Useful for mapping beyond physical activities into economic, technological, social and political spaces.

An example of use is in the culture map which seperately has uses in stabilising or destabilising cultures or in exploring beliefs within a culture.

Peace, War and Wonder heat maps.

This uses weak signals and it takes me time to produce. Don’t expect regular updates. A heat map of when major points of industrialisation (known as “war”) are going to occur. Useful for investment and shorting.

Population Studies

Using maps, I run population studies on companies every decade looking for the change in characteristics / phenotype. The next one is 2031. Useful for identifying new principles (i.e. doctrine) but also for company comparison to an industry.

Sovereignty Maps

When looking at issues of sovereignty, I’ll tend to create a map, apply climatic patterns and then work out where our borders should be. This is an example from DVLA in 2015, forecasting forward to 2025. Remember there are three basic forms of competition (striving with others) which are conflict (fighting others), collaboration (labouring with others) and co-operation (helping others). Useful for sovereignty discussions over economic, technological, social and political spaces.

Benefit tables.

Developed from mapping an industry across multiple perspectives with large groups of people experienced in the field (this normally takes about ten hours). I then aggregate across maps for social versus market benefit. Useful for challenging long term social planning and finding overlaps between market and social needs.

Predictabilty graph

One thing you’ll learn with patterns is that often we can reasonably predict what is going to happen but not when, or, when something will happen but not what. Useful for understanding the limits of predictability.

Evolution curve

Underpins the evolution axis, created from the original text analysis which includes 9,223 publications. Don’t confuse this with diffusion. They are not the same. Useful for understanding why uncertainty is part of mapping (it literally underpins the axis).

Attitude table

Explorers, villagers and town planners is a cell based structure that mixes maps, aptitude and attitude. It’s old (circa 2005/2006) and very dangerous unless you have most of the doctrine in place. It also requires a system of theft. Useful for thinking about organisational structure.

We could go on but these are some of the basic tools I use.