A complete guide to SWOT analysis — with examples and templates
Building a comprehensive business or product strategy is no simple task — but it is critical for establishing a vision that can lead your team to success. There are a number of important elements to consider when planning how to turn your product ideas into viable solutions that customers love. Strategic planning templates can help make this process easier and more organized.
One of the most common strategic planning templates is a SWOT analysis template — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Many business leaders and product managers use SWOT analysis templates to get a clear picture of internal and external factors influencing their success.
Folks using Aha! software can conduct this analysis in either Aha! Notebooks or Aha! Roadmaps — both of which come with built-in SWOT templates to streamline this work. You can also use the Excel and PowerPoint templates found in this guide.
Customize a SWOT analysis template in Aha! Notebooks. Sign up for a free trial.
Jump ahead to access the templates and get tips on building your own SWOT analysis:
What is a SWOT analysis?
SWOT, an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, is a tool that can help reveal which aspects of your product or business are the strongest and where there is room to improve your offering for your customers. You can also uncover opportunities and challenges for your product in the competitive landscape — such as new strategic partners or shifting customer sentiment.
Most SWOT analyses assess internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). Internal factors are characteristics of your business or product in relation to your competitors. External factors, on the other hand, are elements of your market landscape that could positively or negatively impact the success of your business.
For example, say that you are experiencing a decrease in users signing up for free trials of your software. If the issue is due to limited marketing resources to promote the free trials, then this would be considered an internal weakness. But if it is due to a competitor introducing their own free trials and capturing more market share, it is an external threat.
By incorporating a SWOT analysis exercise into your strategic planning, you take steps toward minimizing risk and maximizing the potential value of your products. While a SWOT analysis can be a helpful tool at the company level, this guide focuses on how product teams work through the exercise. Product leaders conduct SWOT analyses during strategic planning — to identify what their product is doing well, where it can improve, and how it fits in the competitive landscape.
SWOT analysis examples
The specific components of your SWOT analysis will be unique to your organization and products. But to help you start thinking about each of these components, here are some examples of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
SWOT category | Example items |
Strengths |
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Weaknesses |
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Opportunities |
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Threats |
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Now, let's get to the templates — you can customize these to adjust the information and layout you need.
Select one of the SWOT templates in Aha! software:
Or choose a SWOT template in Excel:
And here are additional SWOT templates that you can add to a PowerPoint presentation:
Aha! Notebooks SWOT analysis template
This template in Aha! Notebooks is ideal for conducting an interactive SWOT analysis on a virtual whiteboard. After completing your analysis, use the built-in action plan matrix to highlight areas you will invest in. You can share the whiteboard with colleagues and ask them to add their perspectives.
Aha! Roadmaps SWOT analysis template
The SWOT analysis template in Aha! Roadmaps is one of several strategic planning models that come with a Roadmaps account — in addition to Lean Canvas, Porter’s 5 forces, a Segment profile, and a 10Ps marketing matrix. Building a strategic model in the same tool you use for roadmapping and workflow management helps everyone incorporate strategic thinking into daily work.
Excel SWOT analysis templates
These Excel templates are a great starting point to bring visual planning into spreadsheets.
Simple matrix Excel SWOT template
The basic SWOT matrix template is a four-quadrant table that includes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a color-coded grid.
Business planning Excel SWOT template
The business planning SWOT template allows you to summarize key information at the beginning and end of your template — so you can provide extra context for the internal and external factors listed in the quadrants.
Internal vs. external Excel SWOT template
The internal vs. external template segments your SWOT analysis into internal factors related to your team and processes and external factors that are outside your company. This Excel SWOT analysis template highlights the relationships between each of the components.
Top-down Excel SWOT template
The top-down SWOT analysis template helps you focus on one component at a time and allows more flexibility to expand where needed.
PowerPoint SWOT analysis templates
PowerPoint templates can be useful when creating a deck of slides. Be sure to distill each quadrant down to its essence so your slide is clean, simple, and easy for your audience to comprehend.
Simple matrix PowerPoint SWOT template
This template will help you create a traditional, matrix-style SWOT analysis.
Top-down PowerPoint SWOT template
This template is useful when you need to add longer descriptions. Similar to the top-down SWOT for Excel, this colorful PowerPoint template arranges the components in a vertical layout.
Competitors PowerPoint SWOT template
This SWOT analysis template allows you to compare internal and external factors for your organization with one competitor or a set of competitors — so you can make better decisions about where to take your product next.
Circle PowerPoint SWOT template
The circle template shows the SWOT matrix in the middle with call-out text boxes for each component — perfect for adding additional details and talking points.
Growth PowerPoint SWOT template
This SWOT analysis template incorporates growth strategies into the SWOT framework with forward-looking statements for each component. This is useful when you want to come away from the analysis with an action plan.
Steps for creating your own SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is meant to be a quick, simple exercise — sparking meaningful discussions where you dig deeply into key facets of your product strategy. Here are the four basic steps:
1. Identify product strengths
Discuss and document the attributes that give your product an advantage over other similar products. These can be specific features, your customer service, integrations — whatever sets your product apart and delights your customers. (And if you are not sure, ask them.)
2. Identify product weaknesses
Identifying your product's weaknesses is just as important as pinpointing its strengths. The weaknesses section of a SWOT analysis is an internal assessment of the elements that put your product at a disadvantage when compared to alternatives in the market. For example, a weakness could be a feature that customers love in competitor products but your product currently lacks.
3. Identify existing opportunities
Opportunities are usually external to your product and can range from possible partnerships to new markets. These can also be future product expansion opportunities — unmet customer needs that your team has identified and prioritized based on potential value.
4. Identify potential threats
Threats are typically external factors that might negatively impact the success of your product — anything from economic factors to emerging technology. Ultimately, these threats are obstacles facing the business that could adversely affect the product's future.
The Excel and PowerPoint templates in this guide are a great starting point for SWOT analysis. But strategic planning is even more effective when it is tied to your product roadmap. Try the template in Aha! Notebooks to conduct a SWOT analysis with your team in a free note-taking and whiteboarding tool. If you need more sophisticated product development software, use the SWOT template in Aha! Roadmaps — where you can then set strategy and build your product plans all in one place.
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