Business Case

SWOT analysis is a tool used for strategic planning that looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a project. This type of analysis can be applied to a variety of different projects, and looks at favorable, unfavorable, internal and external factors involved with achieving specific objectives. There are both advantages and disadvantages to perform this type of analysis.

Firstly, SWOT analysis have obvious benefits for organizations. One of the greatest advantages of SWOT analysis is that it helps to summarize and clarify whatever opportunities and issues are facing a business or project. For this reason, a SWOT analysis is often advantageous and can play a key role in how a business sets its objectives and develops strategies for achieving goals.

Another advantage of SWOT analysis is that the primary cost involved in the process is time. A SWOT analysis makes it possible for new ideas to be generated without costing the business much in the process. Hiring a business strategist or a marketing team would cost time and resources, but a SWOT analysis can be performed by anyone with time available and an understanding of how the business is run.

Additionally, SWOT analyses allow companies to forecast. Forecasting allows companies to prepare for things like economic downfalls, worst-case scenarios or returns on investment. SWOT analyses benefit forecasting efforts because they provide a variety of information that may be critical to forecasted variables. Threats, for instance, can impact a business's forecast. By understanding the company's advantages and disadvantages, the forecasts will be more accurate.