SWOT Analysis is a straightforward yet powerful tool that PMO teams often use during strategic planning. It helps identify internal Strengths and Weaknesses while examining Opportunities and Threats in the external environment. Although simple in structure, SWOT can unlock valuable insights across various levels of an organisation.
This versatility makes it ideal not only for managers shaping high-level strategy but also for analysts assessing departments, project teams, programmes, or even individual performance and growth. Typically, SWOT analysis is presented in a clear two-by-two matrix format, making it easy to communicate findings with others.
To support your work, we’ve included a free downloadable PowerPoint template that follows the standard matrix format. You can use it to capture insights for your business or project and then share the completed version across your organisation or team.
The Origins and History of SWOT Analysis
Citing Albert Humphrey
Given how widely used SWOT Analysis is, it is surprising to note that its origins are unclear. Many pages cite Albert S. Humphrey as the originator and state that he devised SWOT analysis whilst working on a research project at Stanford University. However, no academic references appear to exist to support this claim.
Adrian Haberberg claimed in a 2000 article “Swatting SWOT” that SWOT was widely used at Harvard in the 1960s. Suzanne Turner’s book – Tools for success: A Manager’s Guide offers up Igor Ansoff (of Ansoff Matrix fame).
It is certainly unusual that such a widely used management model cannot be mapped back to an originator or paper.
In December 2005, an abstract of a paper by Albert S. Humphrey was published posthumously in the SRI Alumni Association Newsletter. In the paper, Humphrey explicitly refutes claims that SWOT was developed elsewhere, “I’m told that Harvard and MIT have claimed credit for SWOT…not so!”.
"I'm told that Harvard and MIT have claimed credit for SWOT...not so!"
Citation: Humphrey, Albert S. “SWOT Analysis for Management Consulting.” SRI Alumni Association Newsletter, Dec. 2005, pp. 7–8.
SWOT or SOFT?
He explains that SWOT analysis came from research conducted at SRI from 1960-1970, and that the original mnemonic was S.O.F.T He explains: “We started as the first step by asking, ‘what’s good and bad about the operation?’ Then we asked, ‘What is good and bad about the future?’ What is good in the present is Satisfactory, good in the future is Opportunity, bad in the present is a Fault and bad in the future is a Threat.”
Humphrey goes on to note that SOFT was later changed to SWOT, but provides no further information on who made the change and why.
Whilst the precise origins of SWOT are unclear, it seems plausible that it was developed in parallel by several people before a common mnemonic was agreed. Certainly by 1969 is appears to have been in general use and was mentioned in Business Policy: Text and cases in that same year.
This lack of clear epistemology for SWOT may actually be part of the reason it has been so widely adopted. Several academics have developed and refined SWOT. In their book Strategic Management and Business Policy, Wheelen and Hunger advocated using SWOT as a basis for a gap analysis between competencies and resources in the business environment. SWOT has also been adapted as a tool for creating User Stories, adopted as a Marketing tool and advocated as an Icebreaker.
The components of the SOFT analysis (satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats) evolved into the current SWOT model, emphasising the need for a comprehensive evaluation of both internal and external factors in strategic planning.
The Dawn of Long-Range Planning
Recent historical research gives a fuller account. Puyt, Lie and Wilderom’s 2023 study in Long Range Planning, followed by Puyt, Lie and Madsen’s 2024 reconstruction in the Journal of Management History, traced the technique to Robert F. Stewart’s team at the Stanford Research Institute’s Long Range Planning Service in the mid-1960s. Working with corporate clients on long-range planning, the team framed a simple internal-external review they called SOFT: Satisfactory, Opportunities, Faults and Threats. Decades of practice reshaped SOFT into the four-box SWOT most PMOs recognise today.
Understanding SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and analyse internal and external factors that can impact an organisation’s success. By examining an organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, SWOT analysis helps in developing strategies to capitalise on strengths and address weaknesses.
This versatile tool is widely used in business and other domains to provide a comprehensive analysis of an organisation’s internal and external environment. Typically, SWOT analysis is used in conjunction with other tools, such as PEST analysis, to offer a holistic view of the factors influencing an organisation. This comprehensive approach aids in strategic planning, helping organisations to identify opportunities and threats and to develop effective strategies for future success.
The Four SWOT Quadrants
The key components of SWOT analysis are:
Strengths
Internal factors that can help an organisation achieve its goals and objectives. These are the resources and capabilities that provide a competitive advantage.
Weaknesses
Internal factors that can hinder an organisation’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives. These are areas where the organisation may lack resources or capabilities.
Opportunities
External factors that can help an organisation achieve its goals and objectives. These are favourable conditions in the external environment that the organisation can exploit to its advantage.
Threats
External factors that can hinder an organisation’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives. These are unfavourable conditions in the external environment that could pose risks to the organisation’s success.
How to use SWOT Analysis
- Draw up a two-by-two SWOT Matrix or download the free PowerPoint SWOT analysis template from this page
- Be clear what you are performing SWOT Analysis on. If you are undertaking a SWOT Analysis of the PMOs role within the organisation, you will come up with very different outputs than if you were to conduct SWOT Analysis on the company within the marketplace.
- Begin by looking Internally: Assessing your Strengths and Weaknesses. In this context, strengths can be defined as "the resources and capabilities that can be used to develop a competitive advantage". It is important to assess your strengths relative to your competitors. Is your brand more trusted than that of your competitors? If so, then it is a strength. Be honest and frank about your weaknesses as these are the areas that you may wish to target for improvement.
- Once you have looked Internally, shift to looking at external factors. An external factor is something from outside your organisation. If you are doing a SWOT for a specific local government department or team, then an external factor is something outside of that. List opportunities and threats facing you. How can you distinguish yourself from the competition? What niche segments can you exploit? Conversely, consider the risks. Threats may come from a variety of sources. Technology innovation, market entrants and new legislation could all be sources of threats that you may wish to consider.
- Discuss the lists and consider the links between the four boxes. Which of your strengths will allow you to take advantage of opportunities or overcome threats? What weaknesses do you need to address to reap benefits?
- Consider how you can capitalise on your Strengths, eliminate Weaknesses, mitigate Threats and invest in Opportunities.
- Use the output from your SWOT Analysis as a basis for strategy planning and action setting.
When the PMO should consider using SWOT Analysis
For PMOs, SWOT Analysis is a practical and adaptable tool that can add value in a range of situations. It’s most commonly used at the start of the strategic planning process, helping PMO leaders assess where they stand and how to align with wider organisational goals. It also serves as a useful reference during ongoing strategic management and change initiatives, providing a framework for reviewing priorities, positioning, and performance.
SWOT is particularly effective in workshop environments, where it facilitates discussion and alignment across delivery teams, stakeholders, and sponsors. By combining it with tools like mind maps or PESTLE analysis, the PMO can guide participants to explore both internal and external factors—identifying what the organisation does well, where it falls short, and what emerging opportunities or threats are on the horizon.
Beyond organisation-wide assessments, PMOs can use the 2×2 matrix to support decision-making around mergers, acquisitions, and potential investment opportunities. It’s a helpful way to visualise where strategic risks and advantages lie, especially when engaging with executive stakeholders.
At a team level, SWOT can be used to reflect on the PMO’s own strengths and weaknesses. This kind of analysis helps PMO leaders answer questions such as:
- What capabilities and services does the PMO offer that create value?
- What skills or knowledge are we missing?
- Where are we adding the most impact—and where are we underperforming?
After examining internal strengths and gaps, the team can look outward:
- What opportunities exist across the organisation for the PMO to support new initiatives?
- What threats could undermine the PMO’s credibility or relevance?
- Who is challenging the value of the PMO—and what arguments are they using?
By working through these questions, PMO teams can shape their own roadmap, clarify their service offerings, and set focused objectives for the year ahead. SWOT Analysis doesn’t just support strategic thinking—it helps the PMO continuously evolve, demonstrate value, and stay aligned with organisational needs.
Personal SWOT Analysis
SWOT is not just about management processes – you can use it to undertake your own personal evaluation. It can be a useful tool to help identify your potential, to develop strategies for career building or to reflect before embarking on significant change. Using SWOT will give you a greater self awareness than a simple list of positives and negatives. Identifying your personal strengths and opportunities will help you deploy your talents to maximum effect. Similarly, understanding your weaknesses and threats will help you develop coping strategies to build up resilience.
Examples of SWOT Analysis Questions to Ask Yourself
Here are some great examples of questions you can ask yourself when you conduct your personal SWOT analysis
Strengths
- What advantages do you have that others don't have (eg skills, qualifications, education, network)? How do these set you apart from your peers?
- What can you do better than anyone else?
- What would your manager or co-workers say are your strengths?
- Which of your achievements are you most proud of?
- What values or principles do you hold that others around you often lack?
Weaknesses
- Where are your education, training, or skills lacking?
- What would your boss or co-workers say are your weaknesses?
- What work or activities do you usually avoid and why?
Opportunities
- Do you have access to learning (online training, classes, conferences)?
- Are there meetup groups that you could attend to expand your network and knowledge?
- Are there people in your organisation who you could be mentored by?
- How can your existing support network help you?
- How could you apply your skills in other organisations or disciplines? (especially if industries are changing and there are growth opportunities)
Threats
- What is holding you back?
- Who are you competing with to achieve your goal?
- Will changes in your organisation or new technology reduce demand for your skillset
Once you have completed your personal SWOT analysis, use it as the raw material for forming your personal action plan – focusing on how to overcome your weaknesses and take full advantage of your strengths.
Download the Free PowerPoint Template
Creating your SWOT analysis shouldn’t be a burden. Use our free PowerPoint SWOT analysis and planning template to get you started. Whether you are in a large organisation, local government, a PMO or project team, the template can be used to help identify your potential. You can use the SWOT analysis template to capture each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat for future evaluation. Your business or project swot analyses can be used as a basis for exploiting the organisations strengths and competitive position.
Download our free PowerPoint template
Download our free PowerPoint SWOT matrix planning template for use in your PMO planning sessions.
Criticism of SWOT Analysis
There has been much criticism levelled at SWOT Analysis. In 1993-1994, Terry Hill and Roy Westbrook undertook a piece of research in the UK, reviewing the use of SWOT Analysis at 20 UK manufacturing companies. They published their work under the heading “SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall”. In the paper, they noted that “SWOT, as deployed in these [20] companies, was ineffective as a means of analysis or as part of a corporate strategy review. Indeed, it is arguable that this SWOT activity and its outputs do not constitute analysis at all…The outputs delivered using [SWOT] lacked relevance and afforded inadequate insights. The results were uniform of little value in terms of corporate strategy development”. They concluded by arguing that SWOT Analysis had long passed its sell-by date.
In Adrian Haberberg’s article “Swatting SWOT”, he notes a number of negative factors:
- The technique's seductive simplicity seems to lead people to use it sloppily so the results really are not that helpful;
- In light of what we have learned about the nature of competitive advantage [...] the four SWOT factors are no longer enough for an assessment of an organisation's position;
- Managers believe it is useful and think it has a strong foundation in theory and research. In fact, there is no piece of the underlying theory that shows how, by examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and only these four factors, we can arrive at a complete appraisal of an organisation's position. In fact, SWOT bears all the hallmarks of a gadget that someone sketched out on the back of an envelope one day and that just caught on.
Users of SWOT would do well to heed these criticisms and treat SWOT with care. It has its uses as a back-of-a-napkin model to convey ideas, seek alignment and articulate a view of the team or organisation. However, it should not ever be mistaken for a robust, research-based technique for analysing an organisation.
How HotPMO uses this in practice
We often open a PMO health check with a SWOT session: it gets stakeholders naming issues out loud before the harder scoring and evidence-gathering work begins. The four quadrants also work well as a simple workshop tool in root-cause conversations, keeping a mixed group of sponsors and analysts focused on the same four buckets instead of talking past each other. Where a PMO wants that opening picture done properly, it is the kind of first step our PMO Assessment work is built around.
Further Reading
- Puyt, R.W., Lie, F.B. and Wilderom, C.P.M. (2023). ‘The origins of SWOT analysis’. Long Range Planning, 56(3), 102304. – doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2023.102304
- Puyt, R.W., Lie, F.B. and Madsen, D.Ø. (2024). ‘From SOFT approach to SWOT analysis, a historical reconstruction’. Journal of Management History, 31(2), pp. 333–373. – doi.org/10.1108/JMH-05-2023-0047
- SWOT does not need to be recalled: It needs to be enhanced (Adam J. Koch)
- Helms, M.M. and Nixon, J. (2010). ‘Exploring SWOT analysis – where are we now? A review of academic research from the last decade’. Journal of Strategy and Management, 3(3), pp. 215–251. – doi.org/10.1108/17554251011064837