What is it?

A framework for structuring an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Why is it useful?

• Helps you get a clear handle on the current situation at the start of a project or program.
• Builds awareness of what works and what doesn’t.
• Highlights external factors that can help or hinder progress.

Objectives

• Identify and resolve weaknesses or threats in your project or organization.
• Closely analyze both internal factors (strengths, weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities, threats).

When would you use it?

• Early in a project or program to establish a baseline understanding.
• As part of quarterly team or organizational reviews.
• As a simple icebreaker to create shared understanding of the current landscape.

Process

1. Define the scope

• Agree what the SWOT will cover and what is out-of-scope.
  • Example: “The merger between our two departments.”

2. Brainstorm strengths

• Participants write each strength on a Post-it note (or flip chart).
• Capture what’s working well and what you do better than others.

3. Brainstorm weaknesses

• Collect areas that don’t work so well or need improvement.
• Write one per Post-it and place them in the Weaknesses quadrant.

4. Brainstorm opportunities

• Capture new possibilities or external trends that could be leveraged.

5. Brainstorm threats

• Capture external risks, competitive pressures or resource constraints.

6. Look for links

• Identify relationships between quadrants:
  • Strengths linked to opportunities (positive).
  • Weaknesses linked to threats (risks).

7. Action plan

On a new sheet create a plan to:

• Turn weaknesses into strengths.
• Turn threats into opportunities.

8. Share outputs

• Agree how the results will be published or shared with stakeholders (e.g. sponsor, leadership team).

Stimulus questions

Strengths

• What works well?
• What do we do better than others?
• How do others view us positively?

Weaknesses

• What doesn’t work well?
• What should we stop doing?
• What could be improved?

Opportunities

• What are we not doing yet but could?
• Can any of our strengths create new opportunities?
• Are there external policy or market shifts we can benefit from?

Threats

• What is the competition doing better than us?
• Are there resource constraints slowing us down?
• Are there regulatory or compliance risks?

Secret Sauce

• Encourage participants to consider both internal and external factors.
• Ensure all statements are confirmable and broadly accepted.
• If lists become too long, use a Prioritization Matrix to focus on what matters most.