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Focus on high situational awareness

Wardley stresses that without situational awareness, every other doctrine degrades into theatre. "Focus on high situational awareness" means grounding strategy in live maps that show user needs, the value chain, and how components are evolving. Only by understanding what is really being considered can leaders choose appropriate methods, challenge assumptions, and respond before the landscape shifts.

Why this doctrine matters​

  • Awareness anchors every decision. Maps provide the shared context that stops teams from optimising the wrong part of the system.
  • Transparency exposes duplication. Seeing the whole chain makes redundant projects, custom builds, and vendor lock-in impossible to ignore.
  • Movement becomes predictable. Tracking evolution helps leaders anticipate commoditisation, manage inertia, and time investments.

Practices to embed​

  1. Start meetings with the map. Make the current landscape the first artefact reviewed so discussions stay attached to reality.
  2. Document evidence for positions. Annotate components with user research, spend data, and technical maturity so the map reflects more than opinion.
  3. Refresh maps continuously. Update them when signals change—new regulation, supply shocks, or user feedback—so they remain a living guide.
  4. Compare multiple perspectives. Invite teams and partners to map the same space and look for mismatches that indicate blind spots.

Watch for anti-patterns​

  • Treating the map as a static deliverable produced once per project.
  • Allowing components to sit on the board without clear user needs or evidence backing their placement.
  • Discussing strategy solely through slideware or financial forecasts with no connection to the actual landscape.

Questions to ask​

  • What user need anchors this map, and who validated it recently?
  • Which parts of the value chain are least understood, and how will we investigate them?
  • What evidence shows a component is moving along the evolution curve?
  • Where does our map contradict what frontline teams or ecosystems are experiencing?

Situational awareness is the precondition for every other doctrine. When organisations build the habit of mapping before deciding, they stop self-inflicted harm and create the foundation for deliberate, adaptive strategy.