wardley

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Overview

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Usage

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

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What is Wardley Mapping?

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

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Evolution Stages

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Mapping Modes

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Mode A: Current State Map

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

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Mode B: Future State Map

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

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Mode C: Gap Analysis Map

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

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Mode D: Vendor Comparison Map

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

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Mode E: Procurement Strategy Map

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

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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

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Wardley Map Example

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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

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Strategic Analysis from Example

• 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

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

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

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

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Component Positioning Guide

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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)

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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)

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Build vs Buy Strategy

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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

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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

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Never Build:

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

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UK Government Specific Analysis

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GOV.UK Services Mapping

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]

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Digital Marketplace Procurement Strategy

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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

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AI Playbook Compliance

• 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)

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Enhanced Strategic Analysis

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Doctrine Assessment

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

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Gameplay Patterns

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

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Climatic Pattern Analysis

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

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Output

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Wardley Map Document

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

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Integration with Other Commands

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

• 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

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Examples

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Example 1: Current State Map

arckit wardley "Current state of legacy case management system"

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

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Example 2: Future State Cloud Migration

arckit wardley "Target cloud architecture for citizen portal"

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

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Example 3: Vendor Procurement Strategy

arckit wardley "CRM procurement strategy for charity"

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

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Map Quality Standards

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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

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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

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Visualization

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

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Next Steps

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

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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