Here is an example of SWOT analysis used as a part of decision making process.
Situation: We are a webdesign studio. We have to make a decision whether to participate in a tender for the government media development contract to create content, design and maintain a government agency website. We use SWOT analysis to sort out cons and pros of going after this project.
Strengths:
- We have a creative team with an impressive list of technical skills;
- We are well versed in the business side of the project, out team includes former executives and business consultants;
- We have sufficient financial resources necessary to participate in such projects;
- Our portfolio includes successfully completed projects for government and public organizations.
Weaknesses:
- Our human resources are already strained out over existing projects;
- Geographically our office is far removed from the potential customer headquarters;
- We are not politically connected;
- Our top people are not built for long, dull and repetitive tasks.
Opportunities:
- This government contract can bring a significant revenue increase;
- Once we are in the system, we can get more government orders;
- Listing this project in our portfolio would boost our image with government and public organizations;
- We can learn a lot from running this project.
Threats:
- We can lose our old customers by diverting our resources to the new project;
- Travel costs could be prohibitively high and in the long run can seriously undermine revenue increase;
- Bidding process could be a serious drag on our financial and human resources;
- While chasing this contract we can lose other lucrative technology intensive projects where our competitive edge is even more pronounced.
Download SWOT analysis template – PowerPoint Presentation or pdf.