Mapping value and commodities on a x / y access.
Wardley Maps are visual tools that help organizations understand their strategic landscape by mapping the components of a business, system, or ecosystem according to their value to the user and their stage of evolution—from innovation to commodity. By showing how technologies, capabilities, and practices mature over time, Wardley Maps reveal where to focus innovation, where to standardize, and where to optimize costs. They provide situational awareness—a clear view of what exists, what is changing, and why—to guide better strategic decisions. This approach helps teams align around a shared understanding of their environment, anticipate market shifts, and prioritize investments, ultimately enabling organizations to act with greater clarity, agility, and purpose.
- Situational Awareness
Wardley Maps visualize the landscape in which an organization operates — showing components (activities, data, practices, technologies) and how they evolve from genesis → custom-built → product → commodity. This clarity helps teams understand where they are and what’s changing, rather than relying on abstract strategy slides.
- Informed Strategic Decision-Making
By showing the position and evolution of components, leaders can:
Identify where to innovate versus where to standardize.
Spot opportunities for outsourcing, automation, or partnerships.
Avoid wasting resources on commoditized areas.
- Alignment Across Teams
Wardley Maps act as a shared language between business, product, and technical teams. They help align everyone’s understanding of the environment and justify why specific actions (e.g., building vs buying) make sense.
- Anticipation of Change
Because the framework is grounded in the idea of evolution, it helps anticipate how technologies, markets, or practices are likely to shift — preparing organizations to adapt ahead of competitors.
- Improved Communication and Governance
Wardley Maps make complex systems visual and explicit, which supports better governance, clearer rationale for investments, and improved storytelling to stakeholders or boards.
- Competitive Advantage
By understanding where the organization sits in the broader ecosystem and how components are evolving, teams can exploit weak signals, disrupt incumbents, and avoid being disrupted.
- Resource Optimization
Mapping helps direct attention and funding toward high-value or differentiating areas, reducing waste and redundancy across commoditized layers.
- Continuous Learning
Because maps evolve over time, they provide a feedback loop that builds organizational learning — enabling teams to track how strategies play out and refine future moves.
Tags: Strategy, Awareness, Change, Communication, Governance
Properties: value, commodiities, investments, services
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardley_map