EVALUATE
EVALUATE what you’ve understood and what you’ve learned and analyze the alignment with the impacts and results needed.
You need to EVALUATE what you know, what others know, how accuracy of the assumptions and the challenge of the unknowns
GAP Analysis
For an in-depth explanation and details around how to perform a GAP analysis review the information at Investopedia at this link.
Gap analysis is a tool that is used for the purpose of identifying a gap or discrepancy between the current state of a business or organization and its desired state. These gaps typically contain multiple unknowns and have a propensity to be the genesis of failure for organizations as they embark on growth initiatives. Gap Analysis involve comparing the current performance of an organization to its goals and objectives, identifying gaps or deficiencies, and developing strategies to bridge those gaps.
Gap analysis can vary from organization to organization however they typically consist of:
- Defining and aligning on focus areas for growth or innovation.
- Defining the current state: This involves identifying the current processes, practices, and performance of the organization.
- Defining the desired state: This involves identifying the goals, objectives, and desired outcomes that the organization wants to achieve.
- Conducting a gap analysis: This involves comparing the current state to the desired state to identify areas of deficiency or gaps.
- Developing an action plan: This involves developing a plan to address the identified gaps or deficiencies, including specific strategies and tactics to bridge the gap.
- Monitoring and evaluating progress: This involves monitoring the implementation of the action plan and evaluating its effectiveness in bridging the gap between the current state and the desired state.
SWOT Analysis
For an in-depth explanation and details around how to perform a SWOT analysis review the information at Investopedia at this link.
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a business, project, or organization.
In a SWOT analysis, Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors that are within the control of the organization or business, while Opportunities and Threats are external factors that are outside of the control of the organization.
Known SWOT
▪Product Impact & performance on measured Market Segments
▪Engineering delivery team performance with traditional metrics
▪Marketing campaign launch results
▪Target prospect decision points when converted to a customer
▪Market research and market study group results
Unknown SWOT
▪Product Impact & performance on unmeasured Market Segments
▪Engineering delivery team performance
▪Synergistic relationship between tech launch and marketing campaign launch
▪Target prospect decision points when not converted to customer
▪Validity of market research and market study group results
▪Lean start-up market impact
▪Health of all data captured by the enterprise
Positional Evaluation
Positional evaluation is a relative assessment at it’s core. it’s used to assess efficacy of an organization or a person’s position. Positional evaluation is a very common practice and tool for the game of chess as well as for business or life itself. It is critical for developing and iterating on a winning strategy in the moment.
The basic principles of positional evaluation is to understand the probability of success and the probability that success will be as expected. in a business setting this can be determined by establishing clear OKR’s for overall business success and for the initiatives that the business is delivering.
Given the variety of ways an organization can deliver value it’s position is paramount to it’s overall value proposition. A good example from the game of chess is how professional players can use a knight and it’s placement to gain leverage and over-power pieces that are traditionally more powerful than it is.
A well-placed knight that controls several key squares can be more valuable than a poorly positioned queen or rook. Similarly, a strong pawn chain in the center of the board can provide a strategic advantage by controlling key squares and restricting the opponent’s movement.
Positional evaluation is an ongoing process in business and the relative value of a product or organization rapidly change as competitors make their moves, similar to the game of chess. The Dark Data in this scenario revolves around an organizations ability to understand patterns, possibilities, consumer and competitors propensity and the overall impact of their value in the market.
