28th September 2026
First iteration.
Agree the Definitions
In the Agree the Definitions step, we take each Concept from Step 4, and ask the Subject Matter Expert what we mean by it, then write the agreed answer down in plain words anyone in the organisation can understand.
We want everyone to mean the same thing when they say ‘Customer’, since the name itself is not self-describing, and without the Definitions each person reading the Concept Map applies their own context and takes away a different meaning.
What do we mean by ‘Customer’?
In any organisation larger than one person, the Concept of a ‘Customer’ carries several meanings, some of them contradictory. Even Concepts common in an Industry often hide complexity.
Is a person with an Account and no Sales Orders a Customer, or a prospect? Is the shopper who bought a bottle of Gin three years ago still one? When the person who pays and the person the Delivery goes to differ, which is the Customer?
So for every Concept we ask the Subject Matter Expert one question, “what do we mean by that?” Every time a new Concept is identified, we ask the same question and capture the defintion.
Expect a discussion, the question is simpler than the answer. Every meaning surfaced in the conversation now saves misunderstanding or an argument later.
Together the Definitions form the basis of a glossary, the second pattern template in this guide. Without a glossary the Map is useful. With one it is valuable, it can be understood and reused by anyone or anything.
A good definition is simple enough for a non-expert to understand, and precise enough to leave no room for misunderstanding. The balance takes a few goes, the traps are a wall of legalese on one hand and a tautology on the other, ‘Customer Type’ defined as “a type of Customer”.
A three-part pattern gives a good middle ground.
First, one or two sentences in everyday language on the nature of the thing, the conditions for calling something a ‘Customer’ or a ‘Product’.
Second, a couple of real-life examples, so a future reader has something concrete to build on. Only a few examples, never every possible one.
Third, the special edge cases, the points of confusion, the misunderstandings and arugements we can see coming. Each new one we meet gets added here, so it only happens once.
Do not chase perfection on the first pass. Agree the easy ones, flag the hard ones, keep moving.