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Why?

Compare an actual situation to an ideal or desired situation. The gap analysis can be used to create plans to bridge the gaps.

How?

You can apply gap analysis to many things: situations, products, processes or performance. It is important to make a clear overview of the differences between the actual and desired situations. That overview can be presented in a two-column table.

Ingredients

• An overview of the current situation (based on data).
• An idea about the desired situation (based on ideas).
• A representation of the design gap.

In practice

A gap analysis is often performed before developing a new product. An identified gap can be used as an opportunity in a SWOT analysis.

Phase(s) of use

In the following project phase(s) gap analysis can be used:

• Analysis