Thread by @swardley

X : What sort of success have you seen with mapping?
Me : Depends upon the context.
X : Any case studies?
Me : Why do you need case studies?
X : I want to get an idea of what sort of impact it has.
Me : That will depend upon your context. We have a conflict here.
X : Why?

Me : You're looking for a method which will give you a defined result i.e. 10% increase in revenue if I look at my context etc. I'm telling you that this is all context dependent and that it's a good idea to look at context.
X : But you must be able to give me a figure?

Me : That would be a trap. If I told you that through maps I helped Ubuntu from 3% to 70% of cloud in 18 months for less than $1.5M then ...
X : Did you?
Me : ... not the point. The point is, you'll think this would apply to your context if you used maps. It doesn't.

X : So, what you're saying is you can't give me a figure.
Me : That's correct.
X : Doesn't sound like mapping is all that useful then.
Me : Quite the contrary. It's impact however depends upon your context.
X : But that doesn't help me, I need a figure.

Me : Why do you need a figure?
X : To determine whether it's worth learning how to do it.
Me : You need to know the outcome of understanding your context before you decide whether to learn how to understand your context?
X : Yes.
Me : But your context is specific to you.

X : We're going around in circles. Can't you just give me a figure.
Me : Pick one.
X : That'll be just made up.
Me : It's just as likely to apply to your context as a figure taken from another context.
X : 10% revenue increase?
Me : Ok.
X : Is that right?
Me : For some contexts.

X : What about my context?
Me : You'll have to look first.
X : This is hopeless. I need case studies.
Me : Is there anyone out there who does exactly what you do in the same market?
X : We do have some competitors.

Me : Ok, well just wait. Hopefully over time one of them might come across mapping and start using it in your context. Then you can ask them, does it help? There's your case study.
X : If it helps, they're not going to tell me.
Me : Don't worry. Just wait a bit longer.

X : How does that help?
Me : If it's useful, more of your competitors will use it. Someone will let something slip. Then you can get an idea of what impact (if any) it has. Then you'll have your figure.
X : But they'll have got the benefit.
Me : Look, I don't have a crystal ball.

... mapping might help you, it might not. It all depends upon the context, what you find and how you use it. If you're going to want case studies with some figure as a target, then you'll have to wait for someone else to use it in your context / industry.

X : Approaches need examples of good outcomes (not numbers) to show they're not snakeoil.
Me : Most snakeoil tends to come with positive case examples extolled by the people providing the oil. I prefer mapping to be spread by others, sharing their own benefits ...

... in other words, I'll talk about how I've used it. I'll talk about other people who talk about their use. I let others decide / run academic studies on whether it's useful or not in a more general case. I won't do ... "big name company uses mapping, you should use mapping" ...

... if it's genuinely useful then others will talk about it and it will spread by word of mouth, from one practitioner to the next.

X : I just have to believe mapping will be useful?
Me : If it's not useful (and you'll know pretty quickly) then stop using it. These maps are both wrong and imperfect. If you don't find it useful, share that story as well. It's important to find the constraints of mapping.

... as more people share their own examples, then in 10-15 years time we'll probably be in a position of giving a general idea of the benefits / constraints of maps. Today, it'll just be anecdotes.