Techniques - SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym for

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Weaknesses (W):

actions or functions that the assessed group does poorly or not at all

By performing SWOT in a disciplined way, stakeholders can have a clearer understanding of the impact of an

existing set of conditions on a future set of conditions

Weakness-Threat (WT) Strategy

o Can the group restructure itself to avoid the threat? o Should the group consider getting out of this market? o WT strategies involve worst-case scenarios

Weakness-Opportunity (WO) Strategy

o Can the group use an opportunity to eliminate or mitigate a weakness? o Does the opportunity warrant the development of new capabilities?

Strength-Threat (ST) Strategy

o How can the group use its strengths to ward off potential threats? o Can threats be turned into opportunities?

Strength-Opportunity (SO) Strategy

o How can the group's strength be used to exploit potential opportunities? o SO strategies are fairly straightforward to implement

Strengths (S):

o anything that the assessed group does well. o May include experienced personnel, effective processes, IT systems, customer relationships, or any other internal factor that leads to success..

The language used in a SWOT analysis is

o brief, o specific, o realistic, and o supported by evidence

A SWOT analysis can be used to (3)

o develop criteria for evaluating project success based on a given set of requirements, o identify areas of weakness that could undermine project goals, and o develop strategies to address outstanding threats.

A SWOT analysis can be used to (1)

o evaluate an organization's current environment, o share information learned with stakeholders, o identify the best possible options to meet an organization's needs,

Opportunities (O):

o external factors of which the assessed group may be able to take advantage. o May include new markets, new technology, changes in the competitive marketplace, or other forces.

Threats (T):

o external factors that can negatively affect the assessed group. o They may include factors such as the entrance into the market of a new competitor, economic downturns, or other forces.

A SWOT analysis can be used to (2)

o identify potential barriers to success and create action plans to overcome barriers, o adjust and redefine plans throughout a project as new needs arise, o identify areas of strength that will assist an organization in implementing new strategies

SWOT analysis is a simple yet effective tool used to evaluate an organization's

o strengths, o weaknesses, o opportunities, and o threats to both internal and external conditions.

SWOT can be performed at any scale from

o the enterprise as a whole to a division, o a business unit, o a project, or o even an individual

SWOT analysis serves as an evaluation of an

organization against identified success factors

SWOT analysis is used to identify the overall

state of an organization both internally and externally

Beginning a SWOT analysis with opportunities and threats sets the context to identify

strengths and weaknesses