An enterprise is like… the Milky Way! – blog&friends

Or at least, that’s the name of one of the tools you can use to understand your business. I’d like to introduce you to the Milky Way Map, a tool from Intersection, which I learned about from Annika Klyver. There are many tools for understanding a company’s structure and functions, such as the BMC (Business Model Canvas) or the Venn diagram from EDGY. But what happens when each team or silo needs a clearer view of how the company operates as a whole?

Have you already mapped your teams’ processes? If so, that’s a great start. But have you ever mapped out how your teams work together? That’s a much harder task—and it’s rare to see it done well, if at all. That’s where the Milky Way Map comes in. It provides a visualization of your enterprise and shows how different teams, which often work in silos, interact (or don’t) across the organization.

From high-level to high-precision

Your company has an identity and a purpose, an architecture that enables the creation and delivery of a product or service, and it delivers an experience to its customers and employees. Each team needs to understand how these facets apply in their specific context. Thus, your core facets should be divided and adapted for every team.

Typically, I use EDGY, the Venn diagram, and the Milky Way model to create a coherent analysis of the enterprise. By identifying the core of the enterprise’s identity, architecture, and experience, I can use these anchor points to ensure each team aligns with the company’s core values.

Examples of questions to ask to find the core concepts behind the enterprise.

An example of how the EDGY Venn diagram and the Milkyway can be used together.

To infinity and beyond

A high-level MilkyWay and EDGY analysis, as I approach it, may not be the biggest revelation for your enterprise. What’s truly important is the journey you choose to undertake afterward. From there, you can decide to dive deeper into the capabilities or the experience of another EDGY element.

Where do things break down?
Are we operating at 100% efficiency?
What are our customers’ priorities?
What is their experience when they engage with us?
And what about our employees’ experience?
Are we able to meet our customers’ needs?
How does this silo impact the next one?

Here is an example with a lemonade stand.

Examples of content that can be found in the EDGY Venn diagram and the Milkyway.

Examples of content that can be found in the Milkyway for a single team/step.

We don’t map for the sake of mapping. We map to identify gaps, opportunities, and problems. Optimizing silos is important, but you still need a map of these silos to bridge them. With the Milkyway approach, you’ll engage in conversations to understand your enterprise as a whole. This way, you can truly begin to bridge the silos.

An example of a real, anonymized Milkyway map.

In a galaxy near you

Just like in Dans une galaxie près de chez vous (a french Canadian reference) or Star Trek (a global reference), the journey is endless. But in both cases, they have to create the map themselves. So take your time, map out what you know, and journey toward where something interesting is happening.

Bon voyage!

P.S. Funnily enough, in Star Trek, the ship is called the Enterprise.