wardley

Create strategic Wardley Maps for architecture decisions, build vs buy analysis, and evolution planning

Overview

The wardley command creates strategic Wardley Maps to visualize architecture decisions, build vs buy analysis, vendor evaluation, and technology evolution. Wardley Mapping is a situational awareness technique that maps components by value chain position and evolution stage to inform strategic decision-making.

Usage

arckit wardley "<system or domain, e.g. 'NHS appointment system', 'cloud strategy'>"

What is Wardley Mapping?

Wardley Mapping is a strategic planning technique that maps:

1. Value Chain (Y-axis) - User needs → capabilities → components (top to bottom)
2. Evolution (X-axis) - Genesis → Custom → Product → Commodity (left to right)
3. Movement - How components evolve over time
4. Dependencies - Component relationships

Evolution Stages

Stage	Evolution	Characteristics	Strategic Action
Genesis	0.00-0.25	Novel, uncertain, rapidly changing	Build only if strategic differentiator, R&D focus
Custom	0.25-0.50	Bespoke, emerging practices, competitive advantage	Build vs Buy critical decision, invest in IP
Product	0.50-0.75	Products with feature differentiation, maturing market	Buy from vendors, compare features, standardize
Commodity	0.75-1.00	Utility, standardized, industrialized	Always use commodity/cloud, never build

Mapping Modes

The command supports five mapping modes:

Mode A: Current State Map

Purpose: Understand the current system landscape and dependencies

When to Use:

• Starting a new project
• Understanding existing system for modernization
• Identifying technical debt and inertia
• Baseline for future state mapping

Mode B: Future State Map

Purpose: Visualize the target architecture and evolution path

When to Use:

• Strategic planning and roadmap development
• Technology modernization initiatives
• Cloud migration planning
• Post-requirements, pre-design phase

Mode C: Gap Analysis Map

Purpose: Compare current state vs future state to identify actions

When to Use:

• After creating both current and future state maps
• Investment prioritization
• Risk assessment
• Change management planning

Mode D: Vendor Comparison Map

Purpose: Compare vendor proposals against strategic positioning

When to Use:

• During vendor procurement
• After receiving vendor proposals
• Evaluating build vs buy decisions
• Assessing vendor lock-in risks

Mode E: Procurement Strategy Map

Purpose: Guide UK Government Digital Marketplace procurement

When to Use:

• Before creating SOW/RFP
• Deciding procurement routes (G-Cloud, DOS)
• Build vs buy decisions at component level
• Identifying reuse opportunities

How It Works

1. Reads available documents:

   • PRIN (Architecture Principles) - Strategic principles, technology standards
   • REQ (Requirements) - Business and functional requirements
   • STKE (Stakeholder Analysis) - Business drivers and priorities
   • RSCH/AWRS/AZRS (Research) - Vendor landscape, TCO
   • External Wardley maps and strategic documents

2. Identifies components from requirements and classifies by:

   • Visibility (Y-axis 0.0-1.0): User needs (top) to infrastructure (bottom)
   • Evolution (X-axis 0.0-1.0): Genesis to Commodity

3. Performs strategic analysis:

   • Build vs buy decisions based on evolution stage
   • Inertia factors (skills, process, vendor lock-in)
   • Evolution velocity predictions
   • Risk assessment

4. Generates Wardley Map using OnlineWardleyMaps syntax

5. Writes document to projects/{project}/wardley-maps/ARC-{PROJECT_ID}-WARD-{NNN}-v1.0.md

Wardley Map Example

UK Government Benefits Chatbot

title DWP Benefits Eligibility Chatbot - Procurement Strategy

anchor Citizen [0.95, 0.63]
annotation 1 [0.35, 0.25] HIGH-RISK AI - Human oversight mandatory
annotation 2 [0.85, 0.92] Use GOV.UK services - don't build
annotation 3 [0.48, 0.45] Build custom - competitive advantage
note G-Cloud procurement for commodity/product components [0.75, 0.15]

component Citizen [0.95, 0.20]
component Benefits Eligibility Guidance [0.92, 0.25]
component Conversational Interface [0.85, 0.38]
component Human Review Queue [0.82, 0.45]
component GPT-4 LLM Service [0.68, 0.72]
component Benefits Rules Engine [0.65, 0.42]
component Bias Testing Framework [0.62, 0.35]
component GOV.UK Notify [0.55, 0.92]
component GOV.UK Design System [0.72, 0.75]
component Authentication [0.48, 0.68]
component DWP Benefits Database [0.45, 0.52]
component Cloud Hosting AWS [0.28, 0.95]
component PostgreSQL RDS [0.25, 0.92]

Citizen -> Benefits Eligibility Guidance
Benefits Eligibility Guidance -> Conversational Interface
Benefits Eligibility Guidance -> Human Review Queue
Conversational Interface -> GPT-4 LLM Service
Conversational Interface -> Benefits Rules Engine
Human Review Queue -> GOV.UK Notify
Conversational Interface -> GOV.UK Design System
Conversational Interface -> Authentication
Benefits Rules Engine -> DWP Benefits Database
Benefits Rules Engine -> Bias Testing Framework
GPT-4 LLM Service -> Cloud Hosting AWS
DWP Benefits Database -> PostgreSQL RDS
PostgreSQL RDS -> Cloud Hosting AWS

pipeline Benefits Eligibility Guidance [0.92, 0.25, 0.55]

evolve GPT-4 LLM Service 0.85 label Commoditizing fast
evolve Benefits Rules Engine 0.68 label Move to product in 18m

style wardley

View this map: Paste the code into https://create.wardleymaps.ai

Strategic Analysis from Example

BUILD (Genesis/Custom):

• Benefits Eligibility Guidance (0.25 - Genesis): Core user need
• Conversational Interface (0.38 - Custom): Competitive advantage
• Human Review Queue (0.45 - Custom): HIGH-RISK AI compliance
• Benefits Rules Engine (0.42 - Custom): Domain-specific IP
• Bias Testing Framework (0.35 - Custom): AI safety requirement

BUY - Product (G-Cloud):

• GPT-4 LLM Service (0.72 - Product): Commercial LLM via Azure/AWS
• Authentication (0.68 - Product): Auth0 or GOV.UK Verify

BUY - Commodity (G-Cloud):

• Cloud Hosting AWS (0.95 - Commodity): G-Cloud AWS
• PostgreSQL RDS (0.92 - Commodity): AWS managed database

REUSE (GOV.UK Services):

• GOV.UK Notify (0.92): Email/SMS notifications
• GOV.UK Design System (0.75): Frontend, accessibility

Component Positioning Guide

Visibility (Y-axis: 0.0-1.0)

• 0.90-1.0: Direct user needs (what users see/interact with)
• 0.60-0.89: Enabling capabilities (user-facing features)
• 0.30-0.59: Supporting components (business logic, services)
• 0.00-0.29: Infrastructure (databases, cloud, networks)

Evolution (X-axis: 0.0-1.0)

• 0.00-0.25 (Genesis): Novel, unproven (custom AI model, new algorithm)
• 0.25-0.50 (Custom): Bespoke, emerging (custom integration, specialized service)
• 0.50-0.75 (Product): Commercial products (Salesforce, Oracle, SAP)
• 0.75-1.00 (Commodity): Utility/cloud (AWS S3, Azure SQL, Auth0)

Build vs Buy Strategy

Build When:

• Evolution < 0.50 (Genesis/Custom)
• Strategic differentiator or competitive advantage
• No suitable market solutions exist
• Domain-specific IP worth developing
• Compliance requires bespoke solution

Buy When:

• Evolution > 0.50 (Product/Commodity)
• Mature market with multiple vendors
• Standard business capability
• Faster time to market needed
• Lower total cost of ownership

Never Build:

• Evolution > 0.75 (Commodity)
• Cloud services (compute, storage, databases)
• Authentication and authorization
• Email/SMS delivery
• Standard infrastructure components

UK Government Specific Analysis

GOV.UK Services Mapping

For UK Government projects, always map reusable GOV.UK services:

component GOV.UK Notify [0.45, 0.92]
component GOV.UK Pay [0.42, 0.90]
component GOV.UK Design System [0.72, 0.75]
component GOV.UK PaaS [0.28, 0.85]
component GOV.UK Verify [0.38, 0.68]

Strategic Recommendation: Always use GOV.UK services where available (avoid building custom alternatives)

Digital Marketplace Procurement Strategy

Component	Evolution	Procurement Route	Framework
Genesis (< 0.25)	Build in-house OR DOS Outcomes (discovery + build)	DOS Outcomes
Custom (0.25-0.50)	DOS Outcomes (if strategic) OR G-Cloud (if product exists)	DOS Outcomes / G-Cloud
Product (0.50-0.75)	G-Cloud (commercial products)	G-Cloud
Commodity (> 0.75)	G-Cloud (cloud services: AWS, Azure, GCP)	G-Cloud

Technology Code of Practice Mapping

• Point 3 (Open Source): Annotate components that should use open source
• Point 5 (Cloud First): Highlight commodity cloud services
• Point 8 (Share/Reuse): Identify GOV.UK services and cross-government reuse
• Point 11 (Purchasing): Link to Digital Marketplace procurement strategy

AI Playbook Compliance

For AI systems, the map must include:

• AI components annotated with risk level (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)
• HIGH-RISK requirements:
  • Human-in-the-loop (Custom component, ~0.45 evolution)
  • Bias testing (Custom capability)
  • ATRS publication requirement (annotation)
  • DPIA/EqIA mandatory (annotation)

Enhanced Strategic Analysis

Wardley maps include:

Doctrine Assessment

Scores organizational maturity across:

• Communication (common language, transparency)
• Development (think small, user focus)
• Operation (metrics, continuous improvement)
• Learning (bias towards action, challenge assumptions)
• Leading (strategy, vision)

Gameplay Patterns

Identifies applicable strategic plays:

• Offensive: Tower & moat, ecosystem, open source play
• Defensive: Second mover, exploiting inertia
• Anti-patterns: Legacy trap, premature innovation

Climatic Pattern Analysis

External forces affecting components:

• Everything evolves (commoditization pressure)
• Co-evolution (components evolve together)
• Inertia (resistance to change)
• Technology waves (cyclical innovation)

Output

The command generates:

Wardley Map Document

projects/{project}/wardley-maps/ARC-{PROJECT_ID}-WARD-{NNN}-v1.0.md containing:

1. Map Visualization Code - OnlineWardleyMaps syntax
2. Component Inventory - All components with evolution stages
3. Evolution Analysis - Components by stage with recommendations
4. Build vs Buy Analysis - Strategic decisions for each component
5. Inertia and Barriers - Resistance to change, mitigation strategies
6. Movement and Predictions - 12-month and 24-month evolution forecasts
7. UK Government Context (if applicable) - GOV.UK services, procurement, TCoP
8. Dependencies and Value Chain - Component dependency tree
9. Risk Analysis - High-risk areas and opportunities
10. Recommendations - Immediate, short-term, long-term actions
11. Traceability - Links to requirements, principles, assessments

Integration with Other Commands

Input from:

• principles - Architecture principles and strategic direction
• requirements - Business and functional requirements
• stakeholders - Business drivers and priorities
• research - Vendor landscape and TCO data

Output to:

• roadmap - Strategic roadmap from evolution analysis
• strategy - Architecture strategy synthesis
• sow - RFP for vendor procurement
• sobc - Economic case with strategic justification
• hld-review - Validates design against strategic positioning

Examples

Example 1: Current State Map

arckit wardley "Current state of legacy case management system"

Creates map showing:

• Existing components and their evolution stages
• Technical debt and inertia points
• Dependencies and critical paths
• Baseline for modernization planning

Example 2: Future State Cloud Migration

arckit wardley "Target cloud architecture for citizen portal"

Creates map showing:

• Desired future components
• Cloud service selection (AWS vs Azure vs GCP)
• Evolution targets and migration paths
• Build vs buy decisions

Example 3: Vendor Procurement Strategy

arckit wardley "CRM procurement strategy for charity"

Creates map showing:

• Components color-coded by procurement route
• G-Cloud vs DOS recommendations
• Build vs buy analysis
• Vendor lock-in risk assessment

Map Quality Standards

Good Wardley Maps:

• All components have clear visibility and evolution positions
• Dependencies flow top-to-bottom (user needs → infrastructure)
• Evolution stages match reality (not arbitrary)
• Strategic decisions align with evolution stage
• Inertia factors explicitly identified
• Movement/evolution predictions included
• Traceability to requirements and principles

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Misclassifying cloud services as “Custom” (they’re Commodity 0.90+)
• Positioning novel AI as “Product” (should be Genesis if truly novel)
• Building commodity components (waste of investment)
• Buying for Genesis needs (no market solutions exist)
• Not using GOV.UK services when available (UK Government projects)
• Missing human-in-the-loop for HIGH-RISK AI

Visualization

View maps by pasting the Wardley code into: https://create.wardleymaps.ai

Visualization helps:

• Spot strategic patterns
• Identify clustering (areas of focus)
• See evolution trajectories
• Communicate strategy to stakeholders

Next Steps

After creating a Wardley Map:

1. Create Roadmap - arckit roadmap from evolution analysis
2. Develop Strategy - arckit strategy synthesizing insights
3. Research Vendors - arckit research for Custom-Built components needing market research
4. Generate RFP - arckit sow for procurement
5. Validate Design - arckit hld-review against strategic positioning

Related Commands

• research - Technology research feeding into maps
• aws-research - AWS service positioning
• azure-research - Azure service positioning
• roadmap - Strategic roadmap from evolution
• strategy - Architecture strategy synthesis
• sow - RFP generation for procurement