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Community Event : A Framework for Challenging Assumptions


WATCH > Simon Wardley shares the power of Wardley Mapping to unlock the complexity of strategic decision making


In this special Advance Connect seminar, business strategy icon, Simon Wardley, inspired attendees to enhance their situational awareness, and to challenge inertia, legacy thinking, and accepted assumptions. 

Simon demonstrated how a Wardley map shows the structure of a business or service, mapping each of the components needed to serve the customer or user. The audience included representatives from a large number of high growth companies and other organisations from 7 locations (Australia, UK, USA, France, Spain, UAE and NZ). The audience also included Wardley Mapping devotees, including Ben Hogan, who runs the Wardley Mapping Online Meetup which supports members to the basics of mapping, and getting practical experience. 

The inaugural Advance.org Community Event is dedicated to the memory of Paul Shetler, former CEO of Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency, a devotee of the Wardley Mapping method and friend of Simon Wardley.

About Simon Wardley

Simon Wardley is a former CEO, former advisory board member of startups (all now acquired by US Giants), a fellow of Open Europe, inventor of Wardley Mapping, a regular conference speaker and a researcher for the Leading Edge Forum (LEF).

A Wardley map is a map of the structure of a business or service, mapping the components needed to serve the customer or user. Wardley maps are used within UK government, with particular interest within the Government Digital Service (GDS) for strategic planning and identifying the best targets for government digital service modernisation.

As a geneticist with a love of mathematics and a fascination in economics, Simon has always found himself dealing with complex systems, whether it’s in behavioural patterns, environmental risks of chemical pollution, developing novel computer systems or managing companies.

He is a passionate advocate and researcher in the fields of open source, commoditisation, innovation, organisational structure and cybernetics.

Further information

  • Simon Wardley makes his entire body of work available free of charge > More
  • Learn Wardley Mapping > More 
  • Updates from Simon Wardley > More 
  • Wardley Mapping Meetup group, free of charge, runs every 2 weeks > Join 

In memory of Paul Shetler

Paul Shetler died on 31 January 2020. This inaugural Advance Community Event is presented in his memory.

He made a tremendous impact on the transformation of government services on three continents. Paul left an indelible mark and his work including a submission (#26) to the Senate Inquiry into the digital delivery of government services remains a reference for many working in this field. His blogs and presentations after leaving government can be accessed here.

“Paul taught me to be courageous, refused to let me hide and made me step up. He taught me the importance of speaking out when it mattered and showed me the power of getting product in the hands of users as quickly as possible to ‘show the thing’ rather than trying to explain it. Paul created a work environment that absorbed my ideas and energy. He showed me the beauty of making things simple, easy and better. Gone but never forgotten” – Maria MacNamara