SWOT Analysis

What the framework is

A SWOT analysis sorts what you know about an organisation, project or plan into four boxes. Strengths and weaknesses are inside: things you control. Opportunities and threats are outside: things you don't. The value isn't the four lists. It's agreeing which few items in each box actually matter.

What the result looks like

When it earns its place

Use it at the start of a strategy cycle, before a funding bid, when a team takes over a project, or at an annual review. It describes one situation; it doesn't choose between options. To choose, use multi-criteria analysis.

Most SWOTs fail the same way. The wall fills with forty sticky notes of equal weight, and the loudest voice decides which get discussed. Ranking inside each box fixes that.

How to run it with a group

1. Before the session, list the candidate items in each of the four sections. Five to eight per section is plenty; merge duplicates first.
2. Participants do not need an account to respond. They work through the four sections one at a time: strengths first, then weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In each section, they compare items two at a time and pick the one that matters more.
3. Run it live, leading the room one section at a time, or self-paced: show the code so the room answers at once, or send the link and give people a few days.
4. Discuss the top three in each box first. Then look at items some people put first and others last: that's where the real disagreement sits.
5. Pair your top strengths with your top opportunities. That pairing is your draft strategy.

Answer a short example

More templates like this

• PESTLE Analysis

  Rank the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors shaping your team or initiative.

• Porter's Five Forces

  Rank the competitive forces shaping your market — rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, substitutes, and new entrants.

• SOAR Analysis

  Rank the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results shaping your strategy.

• Balanced Scorecard

  Rank performance drivers across the four Balanced Scorecard perspectives — Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth.

• Risk Prioritisation

  Identify and compare the most significant threats, vulnerabilities, and uncertainties. Useful for governance, strategy, cybersecurity, operational planning, and compliance. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• Stakeholder Prioritisation

  Compare the importance, influence, and engagement needs of different stakeholder groups. Useful for strategy, governance, sustainability, partnerships, and change management. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.