# SWOT analysis

A SWOT is simple to the point of being trivial, and it still gets pasted in as a screenshot from a slide deck. Drawn on the page it can be updated during the meeting, which is when the useful edits happen.

The value is entirely in the internal versus external split: strengths and weaknesses are yours, opportunities and threats are not.

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## When to reach for one

* Strategy and planning sessions.
* Competitive analysis and market entry decisions.
* Reviewing a proposal where the risks have not been written down.

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## How to draw it in Capable

| **Route**    | **Use when**                                    |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| draw.io      | A four-quadrant layout you can style and reuse. |
| Excalidraw   | Workshop versions filled in live.               |
| A page table | When the content matters more than the shape.   |

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## The split that makes it work

| **Helpful**  | **Harmful**                                 |                                         |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Internal** | Strengths: what you have and control        | Weaknesses: gaps you own                |
| **External** | Opportunities: conditions you could exploit | Threats: conditions that could hurt you |

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## A few things that catch people out

* Strengths and weaknesses are internal; opportunities and threats are external. Mixing them is the classic error.
* Be specific. "Good team" is not a strength, "three engineers who have shipped this before" is.
* A SWOT with nothing in the weaknesses quadrant has not been done honestly.

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## Related

[Business model canvasNine blocks, on one editable canvas.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/business-model-canvas.html)

[Organisation chartReporting lines that are current, for once.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/organisation-chart.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

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_Editable during the meeting beats pretty afterwards._