Introduction: What is SWOT Analysis?
SWOT (an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a tool that can be used to evaluate a business from an internal and external practice. Some people might say “perform a SWOT Analysis”, others might say something like “complete the SWOT Matrix” – these mean the same thing.
Strengths and Weaknesses are internally related to the organisation/whatever is being analysed.
Opportunities and Threats are external – generally related to the competition.
This analysis can be applied to a wide range of business contexts, including the assessment of digital technologies, which is what we’re going to focus on now. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to perform a SWOT analysis on a digital technology.
Step 0: What Are You Working On?
Before starting, it is essential to define the digital technology you want to assess. This probably goes without saying – in which case you should move down to Step 1 below, otherwise, read on: For example, you may want to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a new software tool your business is considering adopting, or you may want to assess a current website or app performance.
For the rest of this document, we’ll refer to what you are working on the ‘Technology’ – this could be a chatbot, website, app, new product development or any other digital technology, tool or platform.
Step 1: Identify Strengths
Strengths refer to the positive attributes of a digital technology that make it effective in achieving business objectives. Here are some ‘Strength’ questions that might be relevant for you when conducting a Strength/Weakness Analysis, or SWOT Analysis. This is not an exhaustive list, but should help you when you are trying to think of relevant questions for the tool or platform you are looking at.
Features & Performance
- What the technology’s unique features or capabilities?
- What are features of the Technology that can improve the user experience?
- What are the levels of accuracy when performing a task?
- How does the Technology differentiate your business from competitors?
- What programming languages or technologies were used to develop the Technology, and what are their strengths?
- What advantages does the Technology offer in terms of efficiency, cost savings, or user experience?
- What unique features does the digital Technology offer?
- How does the Technology improve efficiency and productivity?
- Can the technology integrate with other tools, platforms or systems?
- What security measures are in place?
Cost
- What are the benefits of the Technology in terms of cost savings?
- What are the benefits of the Technology in terms of revenue generation?
User Experience
- Does the Technology provide a better user experience for customers or employees?
- How does the Technology align with the overall goals and values of the organization?
- What advantages does the Technology have over similar products or services on the market?
- What expertise, knowledge or skills is required by the operators of the Technology (e.g. the employees) to keep it updated, troubleshoot, and take leverage of strengths?
- What positive comments or feedback are customers/users saying about the Technology?
- Can the output of the Technology be customised based on user preference?
- How easy is it to use?
- What does the Technology have to ‘Delight’ the users?
Accessibility
- What devices/browsers/technology does the tool need to work?
- Does the website chatbot comply with accessibility guidelines, such as WCAG 2.1 (or WCAG 3 when it becomes relevant) or other legal requirements?
- Are there any limitations or barriers for users with disabilities, or different background expertise when using the Technology?
Step 2: Identify Weaknesses
Features & Performance
- What are the limitations of the Technology’s current features and functionalities?
- Are there any technical issues, bugs or glitches?
- What are the technical limitations in terms of performance?
- What features/functionalities are missing, which could improve performance?
- What can be improved, e.g. Page Load Time, Response Time?
- Are there things the Technology does, that could be performed faster or better by a human?
- What are features of the Technology that can improve the user experience?
- What are the levels of accuracy when performing a task?
- How does the Technology differentiate your business from competitors?
- What programming languages or technologies were used to develop the Technology, and what are their weaknesses?
- Can the technology integrate with other tools, platforms or systems?
- What security measures are in place?
Cost
- Are there high-costs relating to the maintenance, or support of the Technology that could cause issues if the funds were not available?
- What are the hidden costs?
- Is this more expensive than alternatives on the market?
- What is the cost to scale-up – is it linear (hint: probably not!)
User Experience
- Is there a steep learning curve for users?
- Is it easy to find people who can keep the Technology updated, troubleshoot?
- Can the technology work in different countries, e.g. is language a barrier?
- What complaints or negative comments are customers/users saying about the Technology?
- Are there weaknesses in terms of the navigation?
- Are there places where tasks-to-be-done are too complicated?
- Are there weaknesses in terms of users who may use the Technology in a different way?
Accessibility
- Are there browsers/devices/platforms where the Technology cannot be used?
- Does the Technology have alternative text for images, visuals or videos?
- Are there weaknesses impacting the inclusivity of the Technology?
- Are there any limitations or barriers for users with disabilities, or different background expertise when using the Technology?
That’s all for now! Hopefully these questions have been useful for you and have enabled you to think of even more great questions. Best of luck with your Strengths and Weaknesses Analysis of the Digital Technology! After completing the analysis, you may be interested in ideating for some solutions to problems you have identified!
