Wardley Map

Wardley Map Generator

Generate a Wardley Map for the scenario in $ARGUMENTS, following the formal mathematical model below. Output OWM text plus a strategic analysis.

If $ARGUMENTS is empty, ask the user for a scenario description before proceeding.

1. The mathematical model

A Wardley Map is the tuple:

M = (V, E, U, ν, ε, t)

• V = set of components
• E ⊆ V × V = directed dependency edges. (a, b) ∈ E means "a depends on b".
• U ⊆ V = anchor set — one or more user-need nodes. Real maps often have multiple user types.
• ν: V → [0, 1] = visibility function (Y-axis). Higher = closer to the user.
• ε: V → [0, 1] = evolution function (X-axis). Higher = more commoditised.
• t = time (optional; used only for dynamics)

Optional: τ: V \ U → {A, P, D, K} — component type (Activity, Practice, Data, Knowledge). Use when the map benefits from distinguishing types.

2. Procedure

Step 1 — List components and anchors

• Anchor set U: the user need(s). If the scenario has multiple user types (e.g., customer AND artisan), use multiple anchors.
• Then list Activities, Practices, Data, Knowledge the users depend on.
• Use concrete nouns, not slogans.

Step 2 — Dependencies

For each component, list (a, b) edges meaning "a depends on b". The dependency graph is typically a DAG but this is NOT a hard constraint. The only hard rule is the visibility constraint in Step 3.

Step 3 — Visibility ν (Y-axis)

Visibility is a judgment about value chain position, not a pure graph property. Seed from distance, then adjust:

d(v) = min over u ∈ U of { shortest path length from u to v }
ν(v) = 1 / (1 + d(v))

Then override where judgment disagrees:

• Raise ν for a component the user thinks about directly even if deep in the graph.
• Lower ν for a component that's technically close but architecturally invisible.

Hard rule: for every edge (a, b) ∈ E, require ν(a) ≥ ν(b).

Step 4 — Evolution ε (X-axis)

IMPORTANT: Evolution is NOT maturity and NOT time-based. Wardley's climatic pattern states "you cannot measure evolution over time or adoption."

Use a 4-row cheat-sheet subset (full 19-row table in cheat-sheet.md):

Map stage picks to band midpoints:

• I → 0.125, II → 0.375, III → 0.625, IV → 0.875

ε(v) = mean of the four row picks.

Flag components where rows disagree strongly as "in transition" and report the range.

Step 5 — Stage bands

• Genesis: [0, 0.25)
• Custom Built: [0.25, 0.5)
• Product (+rental): [0.5, 0.75)
• Commodity (+utility): [0.75, 1.0]

Stage III covers products AND rental/licensing; Stage IV covers commodities AND utility services.

Step 6 — Derived heuristics (label as such)

The three metrics below are heuristics proposed by this skill's math model, not canonical Wardley concepts. Treat as attention prompts only.

• Differentiation pressure: D(v) = ν(v) · (1 − ε(v)) — high = visible + immature = possible advantage.
• Commodity leverage: K(v) = (1 − ν(v)) · ε(v) — high = deep + mature = candidate for outsourcing / utility.
• Dependency risk: R(a, b) = ν(a) · (1 − ε(b)) — high = visible depending on fragile foundation.

3. Output format (OWM)

Produce the map in OWM text syntax. Coordinates are [visibility, evolution] with both values in [0, 1].

title Map Title
style wardley

// Anchor(s)
anchor User Need Name [ν, ε]

// Components
component Name [ν, ε]

// Dependencies (component → what it depends on)
Component A->Component B

// Optional
evolve Component Name target_ε
note Note text [ν, ε]
component Legacy [ν, ε] inertia
pipeline Platform [start_ε, end_ε]

Include multiple anchor lines if the scenario has more than one user type.

4. Strategic analysis

After the OWM output, produce:

a. Top 3 by differentiation pressure D — with brief reasoning.

b. Top 3 by commodity leverage K — with brief reasoning.

c. Top 3 dependency risks R — edge (a, b) and why.

d. Suggested gameplays — name each play from Wardley's 61-play catalogue (full list in gameplays.md) and which component(s) it targets. Prefer named Wardley plays over generic advice.

e. Doctrine violations — if any of Wardley's 40 doctrine principles are clearly violated (missing anchor, unclear user, underspecified Knowledge layer), flag them. Full list in doctrine.md.

f. Caveat — remind the user that evolution trajectories are scenarios, not forecasts. Wardley's climatic pattern: "you cannot measure evolution over time or adoption."

5. Dynamics (optional, only if asked)

If the user explicitly asks for simulated evolution over time, use the logistic form:

dε/dt = r · ε · (1 − ε)

where r = r₀ + u(t) − c(t):

• r₀: baseline market pressure
• u(t): strategic actions (named Wardley gameplays)
• c(t): inertia (17 forms enumerated in inertia.md)

Clamp r to be non-negative — evolution is monotonic-forward.

Always label output as "scenario, not forecast."

Supporting files in this skill

• cheat-sheet.md — Wardley's full 19-row evolution characteristic table
• gameplays.md — all 61 gameplays by category
• doctrine.md — all 40 doctrine principles by phase
• inertia.md — the 17 forms of inertia
• README.md — install instructions for humans

The skill is a self-contained package; use ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} if you need to reference these files from shell commands. From markdown links, relative paths like [cheat-sheet](cheat-sheet.md) work.