- What is a SWOT analysis?
- SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It's a strategic-planning framework developed by Albert Humphrey at Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s. You list internal positives (Strengths) and internal negatives (Weaknesses), then external positives (Opportunities) and external negatives (Threats). Looking at all four together helps you spot strategy moves — for example, a Strength that matches an Opportunity is a place to push harder; a Weakness exposed to a Threat is a risk that needs mitigating.
- When should I use SWOT vs. other frameworks?
- SWOT is best for early-stage strategy conversations: starting a business plan, evaluating a new market, planning a quarter, or revisiting a stalled product. It's broad on purpose — it surfaces issues across the whole picture in one page. Use Porter's Five Forces when you want a deeper read on competitive dynamics, a PESTLE analysis when you want to focus on macro-environment forces, or a Business Model Canvas when you want to map an entire business. SWOT pairs well with all of them as the starting summary.
- What's the difference between a Weakness and a Threat?
- Weaknesses are internal — they're inside your team, your product, your operation. You control them. "Slow product", "thin marketing", "key-person risk", "high debt" are all weaknesses. Threats are external — they're outside your control. "New competitor entering the market", "rising interest rates", "a regulation change", "a supplier going bankrupt" are all threats. If you can fix it yourself, it's a Weakness; if you can only react to it, it's a Threat.
- How many items should I put in each quadrant?
- Five to eight per quadrant is the sweet spot. Fewer than three usually means you haven't really thought it through. More than ten and the analysis loses focus — you're listing every observation instead of the ones that matter for strategy. If you find yourself writing more than ten in one quadrant, separate the critical handful from the rest and keep only the critical handful in the SWOT.
- Does this tool save my analysis anywhere?
- No. Everything runs in your browser. The text never leaves your device — there's no upload, no logging, no analytics on the items you type. Close the tab and the analysis is gone. If you want to keep it, download the PDF or copy the plain text before you leave.
- Can I edit the PDF after I download it?
- The PDF is a flat rendered matrix — not a fillable form. If you need to adjust items, change them in the tool and re-download. If you need to do heavier editing (typography, color, additional notes), import the PDF into a design tool like Figma, Affinity Publisher, or Adobe Acrobat. The plain-text export is easier to fold into a Google Doc or Notion page.
- Why is the PDF in landscape orientation?
- Because the SWOT matrix is wider than it is tall. A 2×2 grid with text in every cell reads much better on a landscape page than a portrait one — each cell gets close to a 130mm × 80mm box, which fits 6–10 bullet items comfortably. If you need portrait, copy the plain text instead and lay it out yourself.
- Is this an AI-generated SWOT?
- No. This tool doesn't write the items for you — you type them. That's intentional: a SWOT analysis is only as useful as the team's understanding of its own situation, and an AI guessing at your strengths and threats from a company name is mostly noise. The framework is the value here; the items are yours.
