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Wardley Map Builder

Create strategic Wardley maps visually. Map your technology landscape, identify evolution stages, and make better build-vs-buy decisions.

Quick Start Guide

1. Add Components

Click "Add Component" then click anywhere on the canvas. Components are positioned by:

  • Vertical (Visibility): How visible to users (top = high visibility)
  • Horizontal (Evolution): Genesis → Custom → Product → Commodity

2. Connect Dependencies

Click "Connect" then click two components to create a dependency arrow (from → to).

3. Edit Properties

Click "Edit" then select a component to modify its name, description, position, and inertia flag.

4. Export

Click "Export" to download as markdown (for publishing) or JSON (for sharing/importing).

Click to add components, connect them, and export your strategic map. Your work is auto-saved.

💡 Select a mode above to get started (or press ESC to deselect)

Legend

Component
High Inertia
Dependency
Annotation
Components: 0 | Dependencies: 0

No component selected

Click a component to edit its properties

What is a Wardley Map?

Purpose

Wardley maps are strategic tools for visualizing your technology landscape. They help you understand:

  • Where each component sits in its evolution
  • What depends on what (value chain)
  • Where to invest vs use commodity solutions
  • Strategic opportunities and risks

The Two Axes

Vertical (Visibility/Value Chain):

  • Top: Visible to users (features, UX)
  • Bottom: Infrastructure (databases, APIs)

Horizontal (Evolution):

  • Genesis (0-25%): Novel, experimental
  • Custom (25-50%): Understood but not standard
  • Product (50-75%): Commercial products available
  • Commodity (75-100%): Standardized, use existing

Example Use Cases

Platform Engineering

Map your developer platform from custom scripts to self-service portals. Identify where to invest.

Observability Stack

Visualize monitoring tools. Decide: Datadog vs Prometheus? Build vs buy?

Authentication

Map auth components. See why you should buy authentication but build authorization.

Need Inspiration?

Check out our example Wardley maps for common CTO scenarios: