Understanding the cryptocurrency ecosystem through Wardley maps

They are called maps, because Wardley maps are visual and context specific, and represent position and movement. Reading any kind of map takes practice, but Wardley maps well worth the investment imo. Also mapping is an iterative process, maps should be continually challenged which is a lot of work, but the alternative is relying on stories and recipes of success which is not a great way to do business, especially once your competitors start mapping (if you’re wondering about the continued success of Amazon and Microsoft, they map).

For a soft intro, I recommend this talk by Simon Wardley: https://youtu.be/2IW9L1uNMCs

And then reading the first few chapters from his book: https://github.com/andrewharmellaw/wardley-maps-book

I also found this paid mapping course by Chris Daniel great to practice the basics: https://learn.leadingedgeforum.com/p/wardley-mapping (I have no affiliation with them)

I also had a period of time where it all seemed like gibberish.

What changed was a chat with Alexander Simovic (mapping expert). He laid out the following learning path (which worked excellent):

1. Read the book

2. Map your own systems (from work, startup, or open source).

3. Share your maps with others and get feedback (I can certainly introduce you to others if you email me).

To add an anecdote to your anecdote : It was the first time I read about Wardley map with this article, and I found them obvious to understand after looking at the ~3 examples provided. It does a good job at organizing information.

However it seems a map can quickly become irrelevant, given how fast the world is changing.

It is not an unpopular opinion :) But I guess it takes some study to decipher and extract value from them.

Mapping is definitely a qualitative and often subjective process! There is never one correct map, there are only useful maps.

I think the key takeaways from the post are:

1. Always anchor discussions in user needs

2. Analyze crypto in the context of the broader economy

3. Plan for evolution

4. Wardley maps are really helpful at all of the above

I've also written a follow up post detailing some of the strategic mistakes cryptocurrency projects make and how they can be avoided using maps: https://agost.blog/2019/06/mapping-crypto-common-pitfalls/

Edit: I'm not familiar with applying mapping for security, but these look like some good resources: https://community.wardleymaps.com/t/tackling-security-with-w...