A SWOT analysis helps you organize what is working, what needs attention, and what is changing around you. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Use the template below to examine a business, project, team, or decision. Then go beyond filling the boxes: identify the most important connection between them and choose a next step you can test.
Copyable SWOT analysis template
Choose one specific subject and timeframe before you begin. A useful SWOT for a new product launch may look very different from one for the whole business.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Subject or decision:
Timeframe:
Prepared by:
Information reviewed:
STRENGTHS (internal, helpful)
1. What do we do well, and what evidence supports it?
2. Which resources, skills, or relationships help us?
3. What is especially valuable to the people we serve?
WEAKNESSES (internal, limiting)
1. What is difficult, inconsistent, or missing?
2. Which skills, resources, or processes need attention?
3. What have customers or teammates raised as a concern?
OPPORTUNITIES (external, potentially helpful)
1. What customer need or market change could we explore?
2. What partnership, audience, or channel may be available?
3. What evidence would make the opportunity worth pursuing?
THREATS (external, potentially harmful)
1. What outside change could make our work harder?
2. Which alternatives or competitors could affect demand?
3. What dependency, cost, or other external risk needs watching?
WHAT WE WILL DO NEXT
Most important connection between the boxes:
Action or small test:
Owner and review date:
Evidence that would change our decision:
Keep facts, estimates, and open questions separate. If you do not know whether an opportunity exists, write down the question and how you will investigate it rather than presenting it as a fact.
The four parts of a SWOT analysis
| Part | What it means | Questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Internal advantages or capabilities that help the subject. | What do we do well? Which resources or relationships are useful? |
| Weaknesses | Internal limitations that make the work harder. | Where are we stretched? What is missing or inconsistent? |
| Opportunities | External circumstances that could help if you act on them. | Which unmet needs, changes, or potential partnerships are worth examining? |
| Threats | External circumstances that could impede your goal. | What competition, dependencies, or outside changes could create a problem? |
The internal/external distinction is a useful organizing principle, not a promise that every situation fits neatly into one box. The University of Arkansas Business Communication Lab describes strengths and weaknesses as internal and opportunities and threats as external to the subject being evaluated.
SWOT analysis example: a fictional design studio
Imagine a small design studio deciding whether to offer a monthly service for local restaurants. This is a fictional example, not a Finta customer or a claim about a real market.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| The team already has experience designing menus. | The studio has limited time to support recurring work. |
| One designer can show relevant sample work. | The team has not tested a monthly service price. |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| A few restaurant owners have asked about ongoing updates. | Restaurants can choose other designers or make changes themselves. |
| A local business group may be open to an introduction. | A key outside supplier could change its pricing. |
The next decision is not “launch because the opportunity box looks good.” The studio could ask the interested owners what updates they need, estimate delivery time, and test whether a small service package is useful. It should treat the potential introduction and supplier pricing as items to verify, not guaranteed outcomes.
How to do a SWOT analysis
1. Define what you are evaluating
Write a specific question at the top of the page, such as “Should we test a monthly service for restaurant customers?” Include a timeframe so the group is discussing the same decision.
2. Gather evidence and perspectives
Review information that is relevant to the question: customer feedback, operating experience, available financial records, credible market research, or conversations with people close to the work. Invite perspectives from people who see the problem differently.
3. Fill in the four boxes
Start with concise statements. Put capabilities and limitations within the subject in strengths and weaknesses; put relevant outside circumstances in opportunities and threats. Note which entries are observations and which are assumptions.
4. Prioritize what matters most
You do not need a long list in every box. Ask which points could materially affect the decision, what evidence supports each point, and what remains unknown. An attractive opportunity is not useful if it is unrelated to your goal or impossible to investigate with your current resources.
5. Connect the boxes to a next action
Look for relationships between internal capabilities and external conditions. For example:
- Strength + opportunity: Which existing capability could help you test the opportunity?
- Weakness + opportunity: What gap would need attention before you pursue it?
- Strength + threat: Which capability could help you respond to an outside risk?
- Weakness + threat: Which combination deserves a closer look before committing?
Business.gov.au's SWOT guidance recommends using strengths to take advantage of opportunities and address threats, while improving weaknesses. The output should be a decision or an inquiry, not just four lists.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a subject that is too broad. A specific project or decision is often easier to analyze than “everything about the company.”
- Confusing opinions with evidence. Record how you know something, or label it as an assumption to test.
- Listing possibilities without choosing a next step. Select an owner, a useful action, and a date to review what you learned.
- Treating the template as a prediction. A SWOT organizes information; it does not guarantee a particular outcome or replace research.
- Ignoring tradeoffs. The same condition can be interpreted differently depending on the subject and the decision.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write my SWOT analysis?
Define the subject and decision first. List your most relevant internal strengths and weaknesses, then external opportunities and threats. Add evidence or label assumptions, prioritize the important items, and choose a next step with an owner and review date.
Is there a SWOT analysis template in Word?
You can copy the plain-text template above into Word and format it as a table if you prefer. This article does not provide a Word download. Other organizations, such as business.gov.au, offer downloadable templates.
What is the best template for a SWOT analysis?
Choose a format your team can understand, edit, and revisit. A four-quadrant grid is helpful for comparing factors at a glance, while a text worksheet can leave more room for evidence and next actions. The most useful format depends on your decision and the people using it.
What are the 5 elements of SWOT analysis?
SWOT itself has four categories: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Some teams add an action plan after filling the four boxes, but that is a follow-through step, not a fifth SWOT category.
What is a SWOT analysis template?
It is a reusable structure for recording strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can use a four-quadrant grid, a table, or a simple document. The best format is one that helps the people involved understand the analysis and act on it.
What is the difference between a SWOT analysis and a business plan?
A SWOT helps assess internal and external factors relevant to a decision. A business plan is a broader description of a business and how it intends to operate, reach customers, and manage resources. A SWOT may inform a plan, but it does not replace the plan.
How often should a SWOT analysis be updated?
There is no universal schedule. Revisit it when you are making a meaningful decision, when important assumptions change, or when your chosen review date arrives. Update the supporting evidence as well as the four boxes.
Can one item appear in more than one quadrant?
Sometimes a situation has more than one effect. For example, a new market change might create an opportunity for one service and a threat to another. Be explicit about the subject and why you placed the item in a particular box rather than treating the labels as the decision itself.
Turn your analysis into conversations and action
Your next step may be a customer interview, a partner discussion, or a request for advice. If you use Finta's CRM, you can keep relationship records and pipeline stages together as those conversations progress.