The document discusses ways to expand on a traditional SWOT analysis to develop an action plan. It describes how examining the relationships between the four quadrants of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can generate six strategies: 1) develop weaknesses into strengths, 2) apply strengths to opportunities, 3) protect from threats using strengths and opportunities, 4) defend weaknesses from threats, 5) remove threats by strengthening strengths, and 6) strengthen weaknesses to realize opportunities. Developing an action plan around these relationships can transform a simple SWOT analysis into an effective strategy for addressing issues facing a business.

1. 1
Actions behind the SWOT analysis
Robert Jeges, May 2013
Abstract
The SWOT analysis is a familiar technique used for business analysis; also known as the SWOT
matrix it is a simple approach to discover the position of the business within its environment.
Most people stop the analysis after completing the four quadrants, but there is more to be
discovered and realised from the analysis.
This paper explores the original ideas of classification and prioritisation, and also introduces a
new direction consisting of the development of an action plan by exploring the relationships
between the four quadrants.
This is probably the first original development of the technique since its introduction over 50
years ago.
Introduction
A SWOT analysis is a popular management tool that
is based on a scan of the internal and external
environments looking for Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats. The analysis is
commonly presented in four quadrants, and is
sometimes referred to as a SWOT matrix.
The concept was originally developed in the mid‐
sixties by a research team formed by Robert
Stewart, Marion Dosher, Otis Benepe, Birger Lie,
and Albert Humphrey (Humphrey 2005).
The original version of the tool asked the following
questions:
• What’s good and bad about the operation?
• What is good and bad about the present
and the future
What is good in the present is Satisfactory, good in
the future is an Opportunity; bad in the present is a
Fault, and bad in the future is a Threat. The original
acronym S‐O‐F‐T was later changed to SWOT,
changing the focus from performance (Satisfactory)
to advantages (Strengths), and defects (Faults) to
disadvantages (Weaknesses).
Following the analysis step, the issues are sorted
into six planning categories:
• Product
• Process
• Customer
• Distribution
• Finance
• Administration
By sorting the SWOT issues into the six planning
categories it is possible to outline short and long‐
term priorities. This approach captures the
agreement and commitment of those who are
responsible and accountable for the areas under
review.
Potentially adding
value
Potentially
destroying value
Internal
environment
or the
present
Strengths Weaknesses
External
environment
or the
future
Opportunities Threats
Development of an Action Plan
Although having a prioritised list of issues is a good
step forward, the real value of the SWOT analysis
comes from the development of an Action Plan to
manage the issues. This extra step is quite easy to
perform, but it is not commonly done (Hill 1997).
Once all the issues have been identified, classified
and prioritised, an action plan can be developed by
examining the relationships between each of the
four quadrants:

2. 2
1. Develop
Weaknesses can be mitigated by developing
counter balancing strengths. For each weakness
there may be a potential strength, and the
objective of the action plan is to develop ways
in which the identified weaknesses can be
transformed into strengths.
2. Apply
Strengths are applied to opportunities to obtain
benefits. If it is perceived that an opportunity
cannot be attained because of lack of strengths,
then the lack of strengths represents a
weakness that needs to be addressed.
3. Protect
Threats can be removed using strengths and
opportunities. This is a risk mitigation strategy
that can be an effective start to a risk
management plan. If there are no strengths or
opportunities available to remove a particular
threat, this represents a weakness that needs to
be addressed.
4. Defend
Weaknesses must be defended from threats
before they can be neutralised or removed.
Threats should be considered as potential risks
and should be identified and fully analysed.
There are two other relationships across the
diagonals:
5. Remove
Remove threats by applying the strengths, and
develop specific strengths to target threats.
6. Strengthen
Weak areas must be strengthen to be able to
realise the opportunities.
These strategies can be used to take the simple
SWOT analysis to the next level and transform a list
of issues into an effective action plan.
A practical way to organise this information is in a
table with the rows showing each of the six
relationships and the columns the classification
categories, noting that not all boxes need to be filled
in. Although the original six classifications provide a
useful analysis, other groups can be used if they are
more appropriate for a particular business
environment. Some examples are Development,
Resources, Services, Markets, and Operations.
Benefits of SWOT analysis
The main advantage of conducting a SWOT analysis
is its low impact in terms of time and cost. Another
advantage of a SWOT analysis is that it focuses on
the most important factors affecting the business.
Performing a SWOT analysis it is possible to:
• Develop business goals and strategies, and
action plans for achieving the business goals
• Gain a better understanding of the business
drivers and risks
• Take active steps to address real and potential
weaknesses
• Protect and defend against threats
• Identify and take full advantage of
opportunities
• Make the most of the business strengths
Limitations of SWOT analysis
There are many other factors that affect a business,
and a SWOT analysis provides only a limited view of
issues as identified by a group or taskforce. The
views and recommendations made during the
analysis are limited to the experience and scope of
the participants, therefore it should always be
validated with other members of the organisation.
Although the SWOT analysis provides an insight
into development areas and risk analysis it is not a
replacement of a proper risk and development
needs analysis. There are other tools and
frameworks that deal with eah of these subjects at
length and with proper rigor.
The SWOT analysis tends to divide the world into
certainty areas, but many issues exhibit multiple
characteristics, a strength may also have
weaknesses or pose threats, so the analysis should
always consider the multiple nature of each item
and make the necessary balancing entries in the
matrix.
Conclusion
The SWOT analysis is a popular technique because
it is simple and direct. Most people limit themselves
Strengths
Develop
Weaknesses
Apply Defend
Opportunities
Protect
Threats

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to identify the four categories of items and fail to
progress the analysis further. In its original form
the analysis progressed to a classification of the
items into six groups and it then prioritised each
item within the groups but that step is rarely
performed.
A further development of the technique consists of
the exploration of the relationships between the
four quadrants resulting in six strategies that can
identify specific actions.
The outcome of a SWOT analysis should be an
agreed action plan with specific outcomes and
responsibilities. Progress of these actions should be
monitored until successfully completed.
References
Albert S. Humphrey, A. S. SRI International (2005). “SWOT Analysis for Management Consulting”.
Hill, T. & R. Westbrook (1997). "SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall".