Evidence-Cited SWOT Template
Copy this to record a SWOT of one company built from the public record. Every entry carries a source and a Fact/Inference/Assumption label — evidence per entry is what separates this SWOT from the four-box brainstorm nobody trusts. The crossings section is the deliverable; the quadrants are its evidence.
Quadrant discipline: S and W are internal and current; O and T are external. If an "opportunity" requires the company to act, it's a strategy in disguise — reclassify it.
Template
# SWOT: [Company / Scope]
**As-of date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Decision supported:** [the decision this SWOT informs]
**Perspective:** [theirs, or yours competing with them]
## 1. Strengths (internal, evidenced)
- [Entry — corroborated by customer voice, filings, or independent coverage, not just their marketing] — [URL, date] — [Fact/Inference]
- [Max 5, ranked by defensibility]
## 2. Weaknesses (internal, evidenced)
- [Entry — customer voice weighs heaviest here; buyers document weaknesses vendors won't] — [URL] — [label]
- [Max 5, ranked by exploitability]
## 3. Opportunities (external)
- [Entry — a market/macro signal, stated so it exists whether or not the company acts] — [URL] — [label]
- [Max 5, ranked by fit to their strengths]
## 4. Threats (external)
- [Entry — competitor/regulatory/technology signal] — [URL] — [label]
- [Max 5, ranked by likelihood x damage]
## 5. The Crossings (the "so what")
- **S-O (attack):** [which strength unlocks which opportunity — 1-2 moves, labeled Inference]
- **W-T (exposure):** [which weakness a threat will find first — 1-2 risks, labeled Inference]
- **For your decision:** [what this SWOT says about the decision named above, in 2 sentences]
### Assumptions to Validate
- [Assumption 1]
- [Assumption 2]
- [Assumption 3]Quality checks before you call it done
- No strengths entry rests solely on the company's own website — corroborate it or label it a claim
- Every O and T entry would still be true if the company did nothing (the external test)
- The crossings name specific quadrant entries, not new ideas that appear from nowhere
- The final "for your decision" sentences would survive being read aloud to the exec who owns that decision