Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index A SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or business venture. Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company. Opportunities and threats originate from outside the company. A SWOT analysis is usually performed early in the project development process, and helps organizations evaluate the environmental factors and internal situation facing a project. SWOT analyses are best performed by a cross-functional team or task force that represents a broad range of business perspectives. For example, a SWOT team may be composed of an accountant, a salesperson, an executive manager, an engineer, and an ombudsman. Examples of Possible Strengths and Weaknesses Experience Resources Originality Customer Service Efficiency Competitive Advantages Examples of Possible Opportunities and Threats Business Alliances New Products and/or Services Increasing Market Saturation Targeting a New Market Segment Locating a New Source of Revenue Many of these factors could be listed in several categories. For example, if your competitors are initiating an alliance, this would be a threat. If you can get yourself invited into the alliance, this could be an opportunity. If an existing alliance is causing problems in your supply chain, this would be a weakness. If your alliances are giving you a competitive advantage, this would be a strength. One role of SWOT analysis is to try to turn weaknesses and threats into opportunities, and ultimately into strengths. See Also environmental scanning competitor analysis ecological model of competition Porter 5 forces analysis strategic management strategic planning marketing marketing management Finding related topics list of marketing topics list of management topics list of economics topics list of finance topics list of human resource management topics list of accounting topics list of information technology management topics * list of business law topics list of production topics list of business ethics, political economy, and philosophy of business topics list of business theorists list of economists list of corporate leaders list of companies This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.