# The MADE method — Map, Assess, Design, Elevate > Map, Assess, Design, Elevate: see how your organization really works, then redesign it for the goal you choose, in four moves you can repeat. URL: https://www.orgtopologies.com/made ## The MADE method. Map · Assess · Design · Elevate: see how your organization really works, then redesign it for the goal you choose — in four moves you can repeat. ## Learn the Org Topologies approach ACADEMY Practitioner (C-OTP) and Consultant (C-OTC) classes, live online and in person. Visit the Academy → ## Change, MADE systemic Org design sits between strategy and performance. MADE is the loop that keeps it fit, named after its four moves: Map study Assess Design improve Elevate . First study the design you have, then improve toward the design you need. Study the design you have 01 Place every unit by skills and work mandate 02 Name the topology you have — and whether it fits Improve the design you need 03 Imagine the organization you need, without today’s limits 04 Get the change going with Elevating Katas Every organization already has a design, whether purposeful or an ad hoc accretion over the years. Org design sits between strategy and performance. MADE is the loop that keeps it fit, named after its four moves: THE BOOK · #1 AMAZON BEST SELLER The method in a business novel: Hanna, head of HR, looks through the Org Topologies lens — with principles, maps and real case studies. Get the book → doing compact ## Map 01 study STUDY · THE DESIGN YOU HAVE Place every unit by its two mandates: how broad its skills are (→) and how much of the work it owns (↑). Which parts of our organization contribute to creating value, and how do they interact to produce it — from idea to cash? CURIOSITY People, teams and AI agents all go on the same map. Lines show who depends on whom. Here: a product manager and a project manager direct two complete teams of people and AI agents. This is not reproducing the org chart with titles and layers. You study the kinds of work units take on, the inputs they rely on, the outputs they produce, and how work actually flows between them. right Map where work actually happens — not how the slides say it happens. See the system as it really works today, before deciding how to improve it. Without curiosity, mapping quickly degenerates into justification. Why it matters: in a study of nearly 200 org design consultants, more than half said their clients find it hard to trace how people collaborate across units. “Mapping does not change the organization. But without mapping, change is blind.” 10X ORG · STUDY: MAP AND ASSESS ## Assess 02 study STUDY · THE DESIGN YOU HAVE Compare your map with the three topologies. What is this organization designed for — and does that fit your strategy? Given the current org design and its emerging capabilities, how well does it fit the business ambitions and organizational strategy? HONESTY Directing units decide what to build; complete teams deliver it within narrow, fixed scopes. That pattern is a Delivery Topology. left resource Resource Built for utilization of specialized skills. Fits stable, repeatable work. Slow to change direction. delivery Delivery Built for fast, predictable flow of outputs. Fits known demand. Teams ship within narrowly defined areas for faster flow. adaptive Adaptive Built for innovation and adaptability, to create more value. Fits product R&D where user habits and market demands keep changing. GO DEEPER A sample map of each, the org goal it serves, and its trade-offs in stable and changing markets. Distinguish the topologies → delivering ## Design 03 improve IMPROVE · THE DESIGN YOU NEED Imagine the organization you need — without today’s limits. Choose the org goal, then sketch the target design. What should this organization be optimizing for, and which strategic capabilities does it need to develop to better serve its future? COMMITMENT Don’t start from who sits where today. No topology is best; fit for purpose is, and different parts of one company can choose different designs. In this example the goal is adaptiveness: everyone works as one team of teams in the Driving quadrant. right ORG GOAL WHEN DESIGN TOWARD Utilization stable, repeatable demand resource Resource Flow known demand, fast delivery delivery Delivery Adaptiveness uncertain, changing markets adaptive Adaptive Both, by part a steady core plus a new venture A mix ## Elevate 04 improve IMPROVE · THE DESIGN YOU NEED Now get the change going. Elevating Katas™ are small, safe experiments that widen skills and work mandates toward the target design. How do we make this new org design work in practice to build the missing capabilities? OPENNESS The dashed circles show the target design; the arrows show the direction of change. Run the katas, then remap and start the loop again. left ONE PATH FOR THIS EXAMPLE · 4 KATAS STRUCTURE The two teams join one product group. STRATEGY One backlog for the whole product: the work mandate grows ↑ Managers stop directing outputs; teams own the outcome. PROCESSES Everyone inspects the whole product together, every cycle. GO DEEPER The full Katalog: small, safe steps by area (structure, strategy, processes) with what each one changes. Browse the Katalog → directing TALK TO THE AUTHORS LIVE Practitioners share maps, and the authors join the conversation live in Slack. 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