SWOT Analysis

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Introduction

SWOT Analysis is one of the popular business analysis techniques used in a wide range of industries and domains. It helps identify the areas within the organisation that we are good at (strengths), so we can leverage them and also areas (weaknesses) that might need further improvement. Moreover, SWOT also enables us to understand the opportunities that we may grab and work to our advantage and beware of the potential threats and risks posed by the external factors.

S - Strengths (Areas within our organisation that we are good at, that we do well)
W- Weaknesses ( Areas within our organisation that we can improve, that may have gaps in resources )
O- Opportunities ( Trends and factors that can provide potential opportunities)
T - Threats ( External factors that can pose challenges and obstacles in our progress)

It can be built on the insights drawn from other techniques such as Resource Audit (for internal strengths and weaknesses) and PESTLE Analysis (for threats and opportunities from outside the organisation).

Questions to ask for identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:

Strengths
- What do we do well?
- What resources do we have?
- What do our customers, competitors and others see as our strengths?
Weaknesses
- What do we need to improve?
- What are we not so good at?
- Where are the gaps in our resources and capabilities?
Opportunities
- What are the external factors that we can exploit?
- What are the interesting trends that are relevant to us and our products/services?
- Where do the opportunities exist that we can benefit us?
Threats
- What are the external factors that we need to be wary of?
- What obstacles do we and our competitors face?
- What changes and trends pose a threat to our position in the market?