1. WHAT
   1. is a strategic planning technique used to help a person or organization identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to business competition or project planning
   2. a framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position and to develop strategic planning
   3. the tried-and-true tool of strategic analysis
   4. a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look
2. SWOT
   1. Strengths
      1. characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others
      2. what separates it from the competition
      3. Identify and analyze your organization's Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
   2. Weaknesses
      1. characteristics of the business that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to others.
      2. what stops an organization from performing at its optimum level
   3. Opportunities
      1. elements in the environment that the business or project could exploit to its advantage
      2. refer to favorable external factors that could give an organization a competitive advantage
   4. Threats
      1. elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project
      2. refer to factors that have the potential to harm an organization
   5. Internal factors (internal to the organization)
   6. External factors (presented by the environment external to the organization)
3. Where
   1. Strategy Building
   2. Business Growth
   3. Marketing
   4. Product of Service Launches
   5. Team Evaluation
   6. Personal Growth
4. When
   1. Explore new solutions to problems
   2. Identify barriers that will limit goals/objectives
   3. Decide on direction that will be most effective
   4. Reveal possibilities and limitations for change
   5. To revise plans to best navigate systems, communities, and organizations
   6. To enhance "credibility of interpretation" to be used in presentation to leaders or key supporters
5. How
   1. ask the questions!
   2. brainstorming!
   3. S
      1. What business processes are successful?
      2. What assets do you have in your team, such as knowledge, education, network, skills, and reputation?
      3. What physical assets do you have, such as customers, equipment, technology, cash, and patents?
      4. What competitive advantages do you have over your competition?
   4. W
      1. Are there things that your business needs to be competitive?
      2. What business processes need improvement?
      3. Are there tangible assets that your company needs, such as money or equipment?
      4. Are there gaps on your team?
      5. Is your location ideal for your success?
   5. O
      1. Is your market growing and are there trends that will encourage people to buy more of what you are selling?
      2. Are there upcoming events that your company may be able to take advantage of to grow the business?
      3. Are there upcoming changes to regulations that might impact your company positively?
      4. If your business is up and running, do customers think highly of you?
   6. T
      1. Do you have potential competitors who may enter your market?
      2. Will suppliers always be able to supply the raw materials you need at the prices you need?
      3. Could future developments in technology change how you do business?
      4. Is consumer behavior changing in a way that could negatively impact your business?
      5. Are there market trends that could become a threat?
   7. use templates, Use a 2×2 grid
      1. https://www.smartsheet.com/14-free-swot-analysis-templates
      2. https://venngage.com/blog/swot-analysis-templates/
6. Who
   1. company founders and leaders
   2. a group of people who have different perspectives on the company
7. Sources
   1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
   2. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp
   3. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/12/20/swot-analysis
   4. https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-examples/
   5. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm