Context Slice The SWOT Framework
SWOT maps Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for a subject—typically a business, project, initiative, or decision. It separates internal factors (Strengths/Weaknesses you control) from external factors (Opportunities/Threats in the environment).
When to Use SWOT
SWOT works best for strategic, forward-looking decisions: Should we pursue this initiative? Is this a good opportunity? What's our competitive position? It's less useful for diagnosing why something went wrong (use 5 Whys or Fishbone) or choosing between specific options (use Decision Matrix).
The Four Quadrants
Strengths (Internal, Positive)
What advantages do you have? What do you do well? What resources do you have access to? What do others see as your strengths?
Weaknesses (Internal, Negative)
What could you improve? What do you do poorly? What are you lacking? What do others see as weaknesses?
Opportunities (External, Positive)
What trends could you take advantage of? What gaps in the market exist? What changes in technology, policy, or society could benefit you?
Threats (External, Negative)
What obstacles do you face? What is your competition doing? What changes could hurt you? What threats do your weaknesses expose you to?
Facilitation Tips
Be specific. "Good team" is vague; "Engineering team has deep ML expertise" is actionable. Push beyond surface observations—the third or fourth item in each quadrant is often more insightful than the first.
Challenge internal/external classification. "Poor funding" might feel internal, but if it's due to market conditions, it's external. The distinction matters because internal factors are controllable.
Look for connections: How can strengths exploit opportunities? How do weaknesses amplify threats? The strategic insights come from these intersections, not from the lists alone.
Output Format
# SWOT Analysis: [Subject]
## Subject
[Clear description of what's being analyzed—the business, project, decision, etc.]
## Analysis
### Strengths (Internal)
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]
- [Strength 3]
### Weaknesses (Internal)
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]
### Opportunities (External)
- [Opportunity 1]
- [Opportunity 2]
- [Opportunity 3]
### Threats (External)
- [Threat 1]
- [Threat 2]
- [Threat 3]
## Strategic Insights
**Strength → Opportunity:** [How a strength can exploit an opportunity]
**Weakness → Threat:** [How a weakness amplifies a threat—key risk]
**Key Question:** [The critical strategic question this analysis raises]
## Recommendation
[Overall assessment and suggested direction based on the analysis]Visual Format (Optional)
│ Helpful │ Harmful
──────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────
Internal │ STRENGTHS │ WEAKNESSES
│ • [Item] │ • [Item]
│ • [Item] │ • [Item]
──────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────
External │ OPPORTUNITIES │ THREATS
│ • [Item] │ • [Item]
│ • [Item] │ • [Item]