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A “framework” is a tool or a method for thinking about a business situation or decision – such as launching a new product, considering a move into a new market or defining a corporate strategy.

The framework:

• Provides a way to consider the different factors at play
• Simplifies a highly complex situation into one picture
• Can help you determine a course of action

Before you begin your next research and analysis project, take a moment to explore several different frameworks. Taking the time to look at the project from several different angles will ultimately improve your analysis.

SWOT Analysis

While not required, SWOT analysis is almost always presented as a 2 x 2 table.

This image (from businessteacher.org.uk) does a great job of explaining the framework.  For a given product or business opportunity, the table should outline the product’s internal strengths and weakness, then its opportunities and threats from the external marketplace. This distinction between internal and external is key – it is common to confuse weaknesses and threats when you first start working with the framework.

In some cases, after completing the framework, the takeaways will be crystal clear. In other cases, the framework will succeed in helping you to paint a picture of the situation, without actually providing direction. Additional analysis and thought is almost always required.

Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s Five Forces is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development, created by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School around 1979.

[Find this image and an article by Professor Porter here:http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1]

Porter’s framework reminds us to take a step back and look beyond the immediate competition to the other powers affecting the industry and its customers. Too often we get into the habit of reacting to what consumers or competitors are doing – looking at this framework forces us to consider the other forces at work within a particular industry.  This framework is often closely associated with more “traditional” manufacturing-related industries where suppliers and buyers are very clear, but we can also learn a lot by applying the framework to “less traditional” business models (SaaS is a great example).

The “2×2” axis

A simple X and Y axis can be used to examine industries, illustrate brand attributes and compare product features. One of the most simple analysis tools, it sometimes isn’t taken very seriously.

Here’s an example:

From Phil-Hudson.com

Adding a few new frameworks to your repertoire can shake up your analysis and provide insights that you may have otherwise missed.

It is all too easy to build a framework to show exactly what you want it to show. The key to a good analysis is to look at more than one version of the framework to force yourself to paint different pictures of the situation. What do those other pictures tell you? If every picture is worth a thousand words, the more pictures you assess, the stronger your analysis will ultimately be.