Diagnose & Map method guide
Ecosystem Map
Ecosystem Map visualises actors, relationships, dependencies and flows around an innovation system.
Beginner-friendly guide · 4 min read
What Ecosystem Map does
Ecosystem Map visualises actors, relationships, dependencies and flows around an innovation system.
An ecosystem map shows the organisations and groups whose actions combine to make an innovation work. It focuses on relationships, exchanges and dependencies rather than producing a flat stakeholder list.
Begin from a focal outcome or value proposition. Add only actors with a meaningful role, then show what flows between them, who controls access and where cooperation could fail.
Business-ecosystem thinking shifts attention from the focal firm to co-evolving organisations and roles. Mapping makes dependencies, bottlenecks, value exchanges and leverage points discussable.[1][2]
Actors matter because of what they contribute, receive or control.
- Customers
- Partners
- Suppliers
- Regulators
- Complementors
- Communities
Original InnovationFlow illustration. Example values and software behaviour are explained in this guide; method sources are listed below.
Understand the method
The parts in plain language
Actors and roles
Name organisations or groups and the role each performs in the system. The same actor may be customer, data provider, regulator or complementor.
Illustrative example
A machine vendor supplies data access and also competes for the service relationship.
Flows
Connect actors through value, money, information, authority, risk, materials or service. Label the direction and content of the relationship.
Illustrative example
Factories provide operating data; the platform returns recommendations; an auditor verifies reported savings.
Dependencies and leverage
Look for missing roles, bottlenecks, concentrated control and relationships that could unlock several others.
Illustrative example
One interoperability partner may unlock access to equipment from many vendors.
When to use it
- When success depends on partners, regulators, platforms or complementary offers.
- When a stakeholder list does not explain how the system works.
A practical workflow
- 1
Define the focal value proposition or system question.
- 2
Add actors with clear roles, incentives and boundaries.
- 3
Connect flows of value, information, authority, risk or resources.
- 4
Identify bottlenecks, missing roles, power concentrations and intervention points.
Fictional worked example
Example: factory energy optimisation
This example is illustrative rather than a reported case. A provider maps the system needed to deliver verified energy savings.
Observation:Owns the operating problem and controls site access.
Implication:Installation effort and trust shape adoption.
Observation:Controls interfaces and specialist maintenance knowledge.
Implication:A data and service partnership may be essential.
Observation:Confirms reported savings for customers or funders.
Implication:Agree evidence methods early.
From analysis to decision
How to interpret the result
- 1Inspect the most critical dependencies before designing partnerships.
- 2Distinguish a relationship that exists from one the strategy merely assumes.
- 3Turn missing roles and fragile exchanges into engagement, sourcing or roadmap actions.
Practical interpretation guidance from InnovationFlow. Refer to the method sources below for the underlying approach.
What a useful output looks like
Common pitfalls
- Do not add actors without explaining the relationship.
- Keep the map scoped enough that it can support a decision.
References and method basis
- [1]Moore, J.F. (1993). Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition. Harvard Business Review, 71(3), 75-86. Source ↗Original method source
- [2]Freeman, R.E. (2010). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Cambridge University Press reissue (original work published in 1984). Source ↗Original method source
This guide synthesises the named sources into practical questions for strategy and innovation work. It does not claim that using a tool by itself produces a successful decision.