Method guide · Work with a structured grid
SWOT Workshop
Separate internal and external factors, then combine them into an action with evidence and responsibility.
- People
- 3–20
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Reflect and learn; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
A method for dividing internal and external factors into four areas and choosing actions from their combinations. Use it when existing and missing capabilities are confused, external changes are described as organisational features, or people stop after making a list. Fix the decision subject in one sentence, then distinguish internal strengths and weaknesses from external opportunities and threats with evidence. Connect cards from different areas with strips to develop actions that use strengths, fill gaps, or avoid threats. The result is factors, evidence, combinations, and action sheets with responsible people. Do not establish factors as true without investigating them or gather weaknesses to assign blame.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Define the scope0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Separate internal factors5–20 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Separate. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Separate external factors20–35 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Separate. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Combine factors35–50 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Combine. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Choose an action50–60 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, write the policy or challenge in one sentence and align everyone on the scope and future period.
- For 12 minutes, groups place usable internal resources as strengths and missing internal conditions as weaknesses, each with evidence.
- For 3 minutes, choose one group whose strengths and weaknesses are merely opposites and rewrite them as observable facts.
- For 15 minutes, place possible favourable external changes as opportunities and unfavourable changes as threats in separate areas.
- For 15 minutes, connect up to 4 pairs of cards from different areas with strips and write one possible action on each.
- For 10 minutes, compare feasibility and impact, then record one action for everyone to try, its responsible person, and a review deadline.
If something changes
If
Eight minutes after internal-factor writing begins, weakness cards average fewer than 1 per person.
Then
Identify one condition the plan would rely on externally and add it as a missing internal capability under weaknesses.
If
Eight minutes into combinations, there are fewer than 2 strips connecting different areas across all groups.
Then
Choose one opportunity or threat card and move just one affected strength or weakness beside it, then connect them.
Preparation
Materials
- One four-area sheet per group, approximately A2 size
- 8 factor cards per person, with internal/external fields
- 4 combination strips per group
- 2 action sheets per group, with responsibility fields
- One dark-coloured pen per person
Room and setup
- One island table per group of 3–5
- One strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats surface per group
- One whole-group surface for action sheets
Adjust for people and time
Do not run this method with fewer than 3 people, because internal and external perspectives cannot readily be compared. Up to 10, share one surface. With 11–20, form groups of no more than 5 to make the four areas; each submits one action sheet to the whole-group surface. With 20 people, arrange 4 sheets and merge only proposals sharing the same responsible person. Retain differences in evidence rather than counting votes.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not treat uninvestigated factors as established truth or use weaknesses to blame people. Retain evidence differences rather than deciding by the number of action sheets.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Government Office for Science: SWOT Workshop
Adaptation under OGL 3.0; changes made
- OGL 3.0
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Current-page licence notice
A Taiwa no Fumen adaptation based on the UK government publication identified below. Any separately stated terms apply to the material they identify.
Changes: timings, instructions, materials and branches have been edited for this site. The English edition translates the Japanese manuscript, not the government text verbatim.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This notice does not grant blanket rights to third-party works, personal data, organisational logos or trademarks.
This is not an official or government-endorsed method.
See the licence for its no-warranty and other terms.
© Crown copyright 2024
Credits on the checked source page
- Published by: Government Office for Science
- Produced in collaboration with: SAMI Consulting
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: The Futures Toolkit HTML.
Source lineage
Open Government Licence v3.0 · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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