Phase A, Architecture VisionDerived from Wardley Mapping

Wardley Map

Map a value chain by how visible each part is to the user against how evolved it is, so you can see where to build, buy or treat something as a utility.

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Wardley map: a network operator value chain by evolution

A Wardley map plots a value chain by how visible each part is to the user against how evolved it is, so you can see where to build, buy or treat a component as a utility.

Wardley map: a network operator value chain by evolution A Wardley map for a distribution network operator. The vertical axis is visibility to the user, with a user need anchored at the top. The horizontal axis is evolution in four stages from Genesis to Custom-built to Product to Commodity. Components are plotted and joined down the value chain: the connections service and network capacity data sit high and mid-evolution, SCADA telemetry and the asset register sit lower, and compute and grid power sit at the bottom right as commodities. Visible to the user Evolution, novel on the left to industrialised on the right Genesis Custom-built Product (rental) Commodity (utility) User: connect and keep the power on Connections service Network capacity data (LTDS) SCADA telemetry Asset register Compute Grid power Source: Simon Wardley, Wardley Mapping (CC BY-SA)

Read top to bottom for what the user sees, and left to right for how settled each part is. Components drift rightward over time, so anything still custom-built on the left is where attention and investment belong.

When shaping strategy or sourcing choices and you need situational awareness of how settled each part of the chain is.

What you need and what you get

You'll need

  • A user need to anchor the chain
  • The components and dependencies that meet it

You'll get

  • A positioned value chain from genesis to commodity
  • A view of where to invest against where to commoditise

Taught in

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Derived from

  • Simon WardleySimon Wardley, Wardley MappingSource