WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.033 Happy Monday! 2 00:00:01.033 --> 00:00:04.033 I'm Cory Foy, and welcome to Mapping Mondays! 3 00:00:04.033 --> 00:00:07.033 This week's video continues a several week series on 4 00:00:07.033 --> 00:00:10.033 mapping strategic advantage by combining Wardley Mapping 5 00:00:10.033 --> 00:00:13.033 and April Dunford's Product Positioning Framework from 6 00:00:13.033 --> 00:00:16.033 the book Obviously Awesome to show how we can map out 7 00:00:16.033 --> 00:00:19.033 unique attributes of our product. 8 00:00:19.033 --> 00:00:22.033 Last week, I presented a value chain map for a company that 9 00:00:22.033 --> 00:00:25.033 provides a bug tracking tool. The first step 10 00:00:25.033 --> 00:00:28.033 in Dunford's framework is listing competitive alternatives 11 00:00:28.033 --> 00:00:31.033 - what your customer would do if they didn't have 12 00:00:31.033 --> 00:00:34.033 your product. We compared it to a shared online 13 00:00:34.033 --> 00:00:37.033 spreadsheet, showing how we could think about competitive 14 00:00:37.033 --> 00:00:40.033 alternatives by considering what happens when 15 00:00:40.033 --> 00:00:43.033 components were in different stages. 16 00:00:43.033 --> 00:00:46.033 What didn't change was the components between the two options. 17 00:00:46.033 --> 00:00:49.033 That's partly because we approached it from a high level view 18 00:00:49.033 --> 00:00:52.033 - for example, data store meant an actual database 19 00:00:52.033 --> 00:00:55.033 for our application, but the spreadsheet itself for the alternative 20 00:00:55.033 --> 00:00:58.033 But for this next step in the product positioning 21 00:00:58.033 --> 00:01:01.033 we want to dive deeper and look at unique 22 00:01:01.033 --> 00:01:04.033 attributes. These are capabilities or 23 00:01:04.033 --> 00:01:07.033 features that our offering has that the competitive 24 00:01:07.033 --> 00:01:10.033 alternatives do not. And one of the best ways to do that 25 00:01:10.033 --> 00:01:13.033 is visualizing that on a graph! So let's look at 26 00:01:13.033 --> 00:01:16.033 that value chain map again, but focus on the core 27 00:01:16.033 --> 00:01:19.033 proposition of a bug tracking app - tracking bugs! 28 00:01:19.033 --> 00:01:22.033 What we want to add to this graph 29 00:01:22.033 --> 00:01:23.300 is what makes us unique. Of course, we don't know 30 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:28.000 what makes us unique until we're compared to our 31 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.000 alternative. So let's start with adding in how we 32 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.000 accomplish these things - what we think makes us unique. 33 00:01:34.266 --> 00:01:37.100 For example, to collect 34 00:01:37.100 --> 00:01:40.100 bug information, we have a standard bug entry form. 35 00:01:40.100 --> 00:01:43.100 We also have an API that people can use to create bugs 36 00:01:43.100 --> 00:01:46.100 in the system. Finally, we have integrations 37 00:01:46.100 --> 00:01:49.100 with several market leading tools to create bug tracking 38 00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:52.100 items in our system when those source systems detect errors. 39 00:01:52.100 --> 00:01:55.100 For timing information, users can 40 00:01:55.100 --> 00:01:58.100 manually update the fields in the system, or we can 41 00:01:58.100 --> 00:02:01.100 automatically update them when certain actions happen, either 42 00:02:01.100 --> 00:02:03.500 in our system, or through those integrations. 43 00:02:04.066 --> 00:02:07.066 Bug status can likewise be manually updated. 44 00:02:07.066 --> 00:02:10.066 Or, we have integrations with source control providers 45 00:02:10.066 --> 00:02:13.066 that allow us to update the status based on the acceptance 46 00:02:13.066 --> 00:02:16.066 of a pull request, or even a pull request only when 47 00:02:16.066 --> 00:02:19.066 it has successful passing tests. 48 00:02:19.066 --> 00:02:22.066 Taken together, this starts to paint a broader picture of how 49 00:02:22.066 --> 00:02:25.066 we stack up against a simple spreadsheet. 50 00:02:25.066 --> 00:02:28.066 But let's actually look at our unique attributes by doing this 51 00:02:28.066 --> 00:02:31.066 exercise with our competitive alternative. 52 00:02:31.066 --> 00:02:34.066 With a spreadsheet, we capture bug information by 53 00:02:34.066 --> 00:02:37.066 filling out columns. Most online spreadsheets 54 00:02:37.066 --> 00:02:40.066 also have an API you can use to write to cells 55 00:02:40.066 --> 00:02:43.066 so...that's an option. Timing information 56 00:02:43.066 --> 00:02:46.066 can also be updated manually, or in an automated 57 00:02:46.066 --> 00:02:49.066 fashion using formula triggers. Finally, 58 00:02:49.066 --> 00:02:52.066 Bug Status can of course be manually updated by changing a column 59 00:02:52.066 --> 00:02:55.066 or via that API. 60 00:02:55.066 --> 00:02:58.066 If we overlay these with our tools, we start 61 00:02:58.066 --> 00:03:01.066 to get that picture of our unique attributes. 62 00:03:01.066 --> 00:03:04.066 Clearly our application integrations win out here. 63 00:03:04.066 --> 00:03:07.066 Whether it's creating bugs, updating timing information, 64 00:03:07.066 --> 00:03:10.066 or being able to update bugs based on code changes. 65 00:03:10.066 --> 00:03:13.066 But, does this seem right? 66 00:03:13.066 --> 00:03:16.066 Certainly we have stronger unique attributes in the other areas, right? 67 00:03:16.066 --> 00:03:19.066 And in fact, we do. 68 00:03:19.066 --> 00:03:22.066 Dunford says that the unique attributes are often technical features 69 00:03:22.066 --> 00:03:25.066 but can also be things like your delivery model, 70 00:03:25.066 --> 00:03:28.066 business model, or specific expertise. 71 00:03:28.066 --> 00:03:31.066 And I'd add one more - your evolution of components. 72 00:03:31.066 --> 00:03:34.066 So let's go back and turn this 73 00:03:34.066 --> 00:03:37.066 value chain graph of our system into a Wardley Map. 74 00:03:37.066 --> 00:03:40.066 We can see that many attributes of it, even 75 00:03:40.066 --> 00:03:42.266 the API, are products. 76 00:03:42.266 --> 00:03:44.033 This means customers can 77 00:03:44.033 --> 00:03:47.033 build components on top of our API, becase it's 78 00:03:47.033 --> 00:03:50.033 providing an interface into the key steps in our system. 79 00:03:50.033 --> 00:03:53.033 Now, let's look at that spreadsheet. 80 00:03:53.033 --> 00:03:56.033 Here we can see that, while it does have an API, 81 00:03:56.033 --> 00:03:59.033 you're going to manipulating cells, not 82 00:03:59.033 --> 00:04:02.033 managing bugs. This means the API is really 83 00:04:02.033 --> 00:04:05.033 more in the Genesis / Custom Built edge 84 00:04:05.033 --> 00:04:08.033 in order to make it useful you're going to have to build your own abstractions 85 00:04:08.033 --> 00:04:11.033 on top of it. Combining these 86 00:04:11.033 --> 00:04:14.033 we can see that an additional unique attribute we have 87 00:04:14.033 --> 00:04:17.033 is one of maturity. We have a more evolved view 88 00:04:17.033 --> 00:04:20.033 of the market and needs for our customers' needs. 89 00:04:20.033 --> 00:04:23.033 And they can build custom integrations more easily 90 00:04:23.033 --> 00:04:24.166 when they need to do that. So when you're working 91 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:28.300 to determine your unique attributes, being able 92 00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:31.300 to compare value chain graphs can produce some key 93 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:34.300 insights. But mapping those components can expose 94 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:37.300 additional unique attributes that go beyond your 95 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:40.300 features, to your approaches and advances. 96 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:43.300 Hope you've enjoyed this video! As a reminder I 97 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:46.300 offer free consulting sessions if you want to get started in mapping 98 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:49.300 and work with organizations across the globe helping them 99 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:52.300 understand and improve their processes and strategies. 100 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.300 If you'd like to set up a call, don't hestiate to reach out on Twitter 101 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:58.300 at @Cory_foy or via email at hello at Cory foy dot com. 102 00:04:58.300 --> 00:05:01.300 Until next week, may you find and celebrate those 103 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:03.633 attributes that make you unique!