Strategic planning requires a deep analysis of the organization current status then provide a forecast of potential projects to ensure the workflow. By doing so, the project will meet the long term objectives.
The method that most businesses use is the SWOT analysis that evaluates the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. In other words, it will provide a present/future analysis of the organization.
Present
- Strengths (Experienced professionals, interpersonal skills, etc)
- Weaknesses (Lack of capital, no website, etc.)
- Opportunities (Fast growing industry, trade shows/conferences)
- Threats (Bigger competitors, lack of established reputation)
The SWOT analysis is a very familiar and useful tool because it allows your organization to see where it can improve and plan more efficiently. It also allows you to break down goals and objectives into manageable pieces.
I agree that SWOT is the most popular method for project management, but that does not necessarily means that its the best. Many project teams use SWOT as their go-to method because they do not know any other approaches. While SWOT is an overall good method for organization, there are other methods that focus more on certain aspects of a project. For example, Porter five forces is another organization tool, but when compared to SWOT, it takes a focus more on the "threats" of the project. Porter five forces emphasizes on "industry rivalry" and is more suited for more competitive projects. Another good organization tool would be the Growth–share matrix. The Growth–share matrix takes a more economical approach to the project and emphases on "market growth" and "relative market share". This approach is good for projects that concern many shareholders.
ReplyDeleteThe SWOT analysis is very popular and known to identify the organizations strength and weakness as well external opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis is a benefit to the organization and can be cost effective for the organization as well a tool to be used for improving or bringing a solution to an immediate addressing of weakness, or threats within the organization. In the same thought, a SWOT analysis can be a benefit to all involved in a organization with generating ideas and alternate decisions, however this may not be helpful in prioritize.
ReplyDeleteI think businesses use a combination of SWOT and ROI (return on interest).SWOT helps in determining how many projects can be worked on at one time, but ROI reveals what type of profit will come out of the project which is equally important.
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