# Strategy Map

**In short:** A strategy map is a one-page diagram of roughly 12–20 strategic objectives in four perspectives. Arrows show how lower objectives are expected to drive higher ones. Each arrow is a hypothesis to test.

## Explanation

A strategy map is a model of how an organization creates value. It puts strategic objectives on one page and links them with arrows.

**The four perspectives**

The standard map groups objectives into four perspectives:

- Financial
- Customer
- Internal Business Processes
- Learning & Growth

A typical map holds about 12–20 objectives spread across these four.

**Reading the arrows**

The logic flows from bottom to top. Goals in lower perspectives contribute to goals in higher ones. For example, a learning goal may support a process goal. That goal may support a customer goal, and so on up to the financial goals.

Each arrow is a hypothesis, not a proven fact. The strategic themes are also hypotheses about how the strategy will change the organization's outcomes. You test them over time.

**Customer perspective**

Map what customers want from your business. Do not map what your business wants from them.

**How it fits with other tools**

The map clarifies the logic of the strategy. It then serves as the backbone for the balanced scorecard, which holds measures and targets. It also underpins initiative portfolios and governance.

**Building a map**

1. Pick the strategic themes.
2. For each theme, write one or two short, action-oriented objectives per perspective.
3. Connect the objectives from bottom to top.
4. Check that the total is about 12–20 objectives.

**Link to IT and architecture**

The map can show how IT maps to business strategy. Many IT organizations do not link their planning and budgeting to business strategy. Intangible assets create value only when they are aligned with that strategy. A map gives architects a shared picture to align against.

## Example

A small retailer wants to grow revenue (Financial). Customers want fast delivery (Customer). So the retailer sets an objective to shorten order handling (Internal Business Processes). That needs staff who can use a better order system (Learning & Growth). The arrows run upward from the staff objective to the revenue objective. Each arrow is a guess the retailer checks later.

## Trade-offs

The four standard headings do not fit every organization, although they remain the most common set. Proving that one objective causes another is hard, so treat links as hypotheses. A map can go static if nobody reviews it on a regular schedule. Generic objectives reduce its value.

Cause-and-effect chain in a strategy map, read from bottom to top.

```mermaid
flowchart BT
  L[Learning and Growth objective] --> P[Internal Process objective]
  P --> C[Customer objective]
  C --> F[Financial objective]
```

## Checks

- Cause-and-effect arrows run bottom to top, and each link is treated as a hypothesis to test.
- The customer perspective states what customers want from the business, not what the business wants from them.
- The map has roughly 12–20 concise, action-oriented objectives across its perspectives.
- Perspective headings are justified for the organization, and the map has a review cadence.

## Related

- [Enterprise Architecture Strategy](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/enterprise-architecture/enterprise-architecture-strategy.md)
- [Enterprise Architecture](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/enterprise-architecture/enterprise-architecture-management.md)
- [Business Architecture](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/enterprise-architecture/business-architecture.md)
- [Business Capability Map](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/enterprise-architecture/business-capability-map.md)
- [Operating Model](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/enterprise-architecture/operating-model.md)
- [Business Model Canvas](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/vision-stakeholders/business-model-canvas.md)
- [arc42 Introduction and Goals](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/arc42-introduction-and-goals.md)

## Sources

- [Strategy map - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_map) — en.wikipedia.org, accessed 2026-11-09
- [Strategy Map (Kaplan–Norton) | Performance Management](https://umbrex.com/resources/frameworks/organization-frameworks/strategy-map-kaplan-norton/) — umbrex.com, accessed 2026-11-09
- [What Is a K&N Balanced Scorecard and the Role of Its Perspectives](https://bscdesigner.com/four-perspectives.htm) — bscdesigner.com, accessed 2026-11-09
- [Q&A with Robert Kaplan And David Norton on Strategy Maps and IT’s Link to Corporate Strategy | CIO](https://www.cio.com/article/267021/it-organization-q-a-with-robert-kaplan-and-david-norton-on-strategy-maps-and-it-s-link-to-corporate.html) — cio.com, accessed 2026-11-09