The Definitive Guide to Learning Strategic Planning with Wardley Mapping

Wardley Mapping is now a key skill for any organization seeking to position themselves or their products optimally given the current or future competitive landscape and make better-informed strategic & tactical decisions throughout the organization. In this way, companies can get a better idea of what is going on, where they can improve, and how to capitalize on the opportunities in front of them. In this article, we will explore Wardley mapping, its key concepts, and how it can help you in your strategic planning.

What is Wardley Mapping?

Wardley mapping is a strategic tool for mapping the evolution of different parts of a business. This approach has been developed by Simon Wardley and it concerns the maturity of various elements and the way these elements interact with each other. By analyzing these factors, organizations gain better insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and overall competitive scenario.

Summary of Wardley Mapping

Wardley maps rest on two axes: the first represents the evolution of components, from Genesis (early innovation) all the way to Commodity (mass production), and the second represents the value chain, from components facing the customer to those behind the scenes. At this point, the next step is plotting your business components on these axes, which serves to illustrate where you stand in the market, as well as what areas you might wish — or need — to improve.

Why Use a Wardley Map

Here are some ways to incorporate Wardley maps into your strategy:

l Edition: We abstract out all the complex strategy terms in a visual layout to make it easier for the teams to understand where they stand in the present moment.

l Adaptability: As organizations scale up, Wardley mapping provides visibility of innovation, when to innovate, when to automate, and/or commoditize.

l Informed Decision-Making: Being able to have this wider picture enables businesses to operate in a more informed context of their competition.

Making a Wardley Map

Wardley mapping consists of several stages:

1. Identify what elements of a business are critical to your business.

2. Individual elements' evolution stage (Genesis, Custom, Product, Commodity)

3. Map these to where they live along the value chain — customer-facing activities work on the front end, and internal processes work on the back end.

HKMLC Smart Board can be very helpful to streamline this process. It lets the teams see the map together, in real-time, so they can discuss and plan their strategies around it. Learn how the Smart Board can help your strategic planning process.

When Can You Use Wardley Mapping?

There can be multiple use cases where creating a Wardley map would be helpful.

l Market: Choosing what bets to make on innovation, and where to pull back the business.

l Resource allocation: Helping teams find out where they need to pay more attention or invest more resources.

l Forward looking: Do business helps to create what they recognize as biological evolution, anticipating future trends and technological disruptions

Tools like the HKMLC Smart Board enable teams to transform their strategy workshops using dynamic, interactive Wardley maps. This is the tool that will make your meetings worthwhile.

What is HKMLC Smart Board — A New Planning Tool for Wardley Mapping

That reality of the instantaneous interactivity and feedback in the HKMLC Smart Board that springing Wardley Mapping into the teams fast enough to see its impact. Its touch environment allows you to visualize multiple potential scenarios, discuss strategies and change it on the fly. A must-have to enable building and iterating on your Wardley maps, and thus, it is my recommendation to get the best out of your strategic planning process.

With the technique of stashed management, the integration of Wardley mapping to the notations of your organization, and the usage of HKMLC Smart Board as a strategical tool will provide your organization with a stronger decision-making perspective, furthermore a flexible positioning in disruptive settings, enabling your organization to potentially win in competitive environments.