Enhancing SWOT Analysis with TRIZ-based Tools to Integrate Systematic Innovation in Early Task Design

SWOT analysis is the classical tool for framing the key elements towards problem design/development in various fields of activity and at various levels of interest (e.g. leadership, strategy, production process, marketing, product development, distribution, business model, operational management, etc.). Revealing the major strengths, weaknesses, threads and opportunities does not necessarily lead to an effective project formulation. Key pieces of information are usually missing in the classical SWOT analysis, like the relevance of each strength, weakness, thread and opportunity in meeting the intended vision and targets, as well as compatibility of the elements. A structured framework for setting up a comprehensive SWOT analysis is introduced in this paper. TRIZ-based tools are part of this framework for defining reliable solutions to various barriers and conflicting problems emerging from SWOT elements. This framework brings innovation in the early phase of the planning process of the envisaged system, thus minimizing the risk to define low effective areas of intervention. A case study on process improvement demonstrates the relevance of the proposed approach.