Definition
Doctrine in Wardley's framework refers to a set of approximately 40 universally applicable organizational principles organized into 6 categories (Communication, Development, Operation, Structure, Learning, Leading) across 4 phases of organizational maturity. Doctrine is distinguished from gameplay (leadership) in that doctrine applies everywhere, while gameplay depends on your specific position on the map.
The Doctrine Concept
Wardley borrows the term "doctrine" from military usage, where it refers to fundamental principles that guide forces in action. In Wardley's framework, doctrine represents organizational competencies that every organization should develop, independent of their specific strategy. An organization with weak doctrine will fail regardless of how clever its gameplay is — just as an army with poor discipline will lose regardless of its battle plan.
Categories
Wardley organizes doctrine into 6 categories, with principles phased across 4 levels of organizational maturity:
Communication: Use a common language, challenge assumptions, be transparent, maintain high situational awareness
Development: Know your users, focus on user needs, remove duplication and bias, use appropriate methods, use appropriate tools, focus on outcomes over contracts, be pragmatic, think FIRE (Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained, Elegant)
Learning: Use systematic learning mechanisms (data-driven), bias towards action-based learning, embrace curiosity and appropriate risk, monitor ecosystems for future signals
Structure: Think small (cell-based teams), focus on aptitude and attitude, provide purpose/mastery/autonomy, plan for constant evolution, recognize "there is no one culture" (pioneers, settlers, town planners)
Operations: Focus on the detail, manage failure and inertia, effectiveness over efficiency, distribute decision-making, optimize workflow, continuous improvement, set high standards
Leading: Act quickly, strategy is iterative, take ownership, be humble (listen, be selfless, have fortitude), balance commitment with adaptability, recognize everything is transient
The Doctrine-Context Distinction
The critical distinction in Wardley's framework is between doctrine (universal) and gameplay (context-dependent). This maps to the military distinction between doctrine (how to organize and operate forces) and strategy (how to deploy forces in a specific situation).
Common organizational failures arise from treating context-dependent choices as universal principles (e.g., "always use agile") or treating universal principles as optional (e.g., ignoring user needs). The evolution axis helps resolve this: methods appropriate at one evolutionary stage are inappropriate at another.
Assessment
Wardley has proposed doctrine as a way to assess organizational maturity. An organization can evaluate itself against the doctrine principles to identify areas of weakness. This is analogous to a military readiness assessment — it tells you how well-prepared you are to execute any strategy, before you choose a specific one.