SWOT Technique

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning and strategic management technique that provides assessment tools. Currently, SWOT technique is popular and widely used. It is applied by businesses to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company to assess performance and evaluate its competitive position in the market. It is a way to conduct the company's audit, evaluate the competition, risks, and potential of a business, create a strong development plan, and devise a successful strategy to disclose current and future potential.

SWOT analysis is an indispensable tool in the modern business world. It helps to analyze factors that make a product or service, product line, industry, or company strong or weak, evaluate perspectives, provide new ideas and initiatives to develop and promote a particular business. It uses internal and external data and forces that impact decisions and create certain opportunities or obstacles and risks.

Being based on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, SWOT technique supposes the creation of a visual SWOT Matrix with these four characteristics. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, which provide the business advantage or fragility over the competition. At the same time, opportunities and threats are external factors, which may help to improve business performance or endanger the competitive advantage.

• Strengths are internal positive characteristics that provide successful outcomes, give a company a competitive advantage, and enable the achievement of its goals. They are used to develop strategies, may include strong customer service, diverse product lines, etc.
• Weaknesses are internal negative characteristics. These include the company's deficiencies, inefficiencies, internal limitations that may have a negative impact on the company's success or make it more difficult to attain, debt, lack of staff training, or weak brand. The important task is to identify these factors and reasons and eliminate them.
• Opportunities are external positive factors that provide advantages to the business, increase its success and growth. These include new technologies, social trends, new markets, tax incentives, favorable export tariffs, and other innovations and developments.
• Threats are external negative factors that could harm a business and threaten its progress. These include controlled and non-controlled risks, restrictions, economic downturns, increasing competition, weakening demand, uncertain supply chain, etc. The timely identification of threats helps to prevent risks, make better decisions, and use resources efficiently.

Example 1. SWOT Technique

The systematical recording, tracking, updating, and evaluating of the combination of four SWOT aspects provides a holistic overview of the situation, allows highlighting the most serious issues a company faces, and leads to growth and steady success of a product, service, project, organization, or person. It enables organizations to be informed and evaluate their current situation to make efficient, informed, and timely strategic decisions, which are a way to long-term success.

SWOT analysis is a business management, marketing, and also personal development tool. It is used for individuals to achieve personal goals, for example, plot a career path through identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities for success.

The application of SWOT analysis before taking any company action is a good practice. Use it to identify areas where your organization is performing optimally and ones, which require adjustments to improve them. Explore new initiatives and analyze their possible impact, identify risks, and make a decision on what to do first - to eliminate the internal weaknesses or reduce the external threats.

Example 2. SWOT and TOWS Matrix Library Design Elements

Use ConceptDraw DIAGRAM with SWOT and TOWS Matrix Diagrams solution to conduct the SWOT analysis and increase awareness of the factors that impact making business decisions or establishing a business strategy. Analyze efficiently the internal and external factors. SWOT and TOWS Matrix Diagrams solution is useful for profit and non-profit organizations, business owners, analysts, marketers, managers, investors, competitors, and other individuals for professional or personal purposes.

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM illustrates the benefits of SWOT technique through included examples and templates. The predesigned vector stencils help to create SWOT matrices without effort. Develop efficient strategies, improve or eliminate your company’s weaknesses, turn them into strengths, and benefit from your strengths. Discuss your SWOT matrix with other team members to make the overall overview and analyze your business from all sides. Benefit from SWOT analysis with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software.

Example 3. SWOT Matrix

This TOWS Analysis template is included in SWOT and TOWS Matrix Diagrams Solution from the Management Area and is available from ConceptDraw STORE. Use it for effective TOWS analysis and TOWS matrix construction.

All source documents are vector graphic documents. They are available for reviewing, modifying, or converting to a variety of formats (PDF file, MS PowerPoint, MS Visio, and many other graphic formats) from the ConceptDraw STORE. The SWOT and TOWS Matrix Diagrams Solution is available for all ConceptDraw DIAGRAM or later users.