[Me & X] Why is Wardley mapping not more widely used?
X: Why is Wardley mapping not more widely used?
Me: I speak at numerous conferences and ask that question of who is using my form of mapping. Depending upon the conference then maybe 2 - 5% of people have heard of it, and a few of those are regular users (far less than 1%).
On average it takes 30 to 50 years for management practices to meaningfully spread and mapping is only 21 years old. Take something obvious like Test Driven Development which kicked off in 1999 (though its origins are much earlier). Today, despite being over 27 years old, I'd be surprised if 5% of organisations are actually using it even though many have heard of it.
So, is mapping widely used? It's doing remarkably well. Give it at least another 15 years and then, if it continues to survive, we can revisit that question again.
X: Do you think it'll be widely used in 15 years?
Me: No. I think we will know at that time. It will either have meaningfully spread (in which case the signal will be clear) or not.
X: Do you think you'll still be teaching it?
Me: I think I'll be pottering around in my vegetable patch tending to my tomatoes, assuming I'm still here. I'll be 72. I'll just be happy if others are finding it useful and if it has disappeared then I'll just be happy if I'm growing tomatoes.
Originally published on LinkedIn.