Purpose: SWOT Analysis is a structured strategy tool to assess Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in relation to your product and business goals.
Design Thinking Phase: Define
Time: 45â60 min session + 1â2 hours synthesis
Difficulty: ââ
When to use:At the start of a product redesign or new feature definitionWhen aligning cross-functional teams around product strategyDuring OKR or roadmapping planning cycles
What it is
SWOT Analysis is a classic strategic framework used in UX to evaluate internal and external factors that influence product decisions. It provides a clear visual snapshot of what's working, what's at risk, and where product opportunities may emerge. When integrated into UX work, SWOT creates alignment on priorities across design, product, and business functions.
đș Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.
Why it matters
Designers often operate at the intersection of user needs, product goals, and business viability. SWOT Analysis helps translate user research and product context into design-ready strategy. Itâs particularly useful when design teams need to advocate for investments or justify prioritisation with stakeholders. SWOT brings clarity, encourages proactive risk management, and grounds UX decisions in both qualitative and strategic insight.
When to use
- When preparing input for roadmap planning or stakeholder presentations
- When surfacing insights from user research into strategic planning
- When re-evaluating UX goals during major pivots or market shifts
Benefits
- Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that arenât visible in metrics.
- Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
- User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.
How to use it
Follow these steps as a team or async workshop activity:
- Align on the scope: product, service, or flow you are analysing.
- Create a 2x2 grid with Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Use insights from UX research, data, and stakeholder interviews to populate each quadrant:
- Strengths: Internal capabilities, assets, or features users love.
- Weaknesses: Pain points, gaps, or resource constraints.
- Opportunities: Emerging trends, unmet user needs, or tech we can leverage.
- Threats: Competitive pressure, market risks, or misalignment.
- Cluster similar themes, and define potential strategic hypotheses.
- Synthesise into a 3â4 point design strategy or narrative.
Example Output
Here's a hypothetical SWOT analysis for a redesign of a digital banking app:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Simple onboarding, strong security, brand trust | Limited personalisation, outdated transaction UI |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| AI-powered financial coaching; Gen Z user targeting | New fintech entrants; dependency on legacy APIs |
Common Pitfalls
- Too generic: Avoid vague entries like âweâre innovativeâ or âusers want more featuresâ â tie insights to evidence.
- Missing cross-functional input: This exercise thrives when PMs, ops, and support are included.
- One-and-done thinking: Revisit SWOT quarterly, not once a year.
10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for SWOT Analysis â UX/UI Edition
How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)
Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method â a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.
C.S.I.R. stands for:
- Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
- Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
- Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
- Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)
Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders â no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First oneâs free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.
Prompt Template 1: âGenerate a SWOT Analysis From My UX Researchâ
Generate a SWOT Analysis From My UX Research
Context: You are a Lead UX Designer about to present insights from a recent research sprint to your product team.
Specific Info: Youâve conducted [5 user interviews] and [analytics audit] on a [mobile self-service app for customer support].
Intent: Translate findings into a SWOT analysis to align product and design next steps.
Response Format: Provide a 4-quadrant SWOT table with bullet points under each heading.
If research goals or user type is unclear, ask clarifying questions first.
Suggest one hypothesis or opportunity we should explore next.
Prompt Template 2: âRun a Competitive SWOT Analysis Using Product Reviewsâ
Run a Competitive SWOT Analysis Using Product Reviews
Context: You are a UX strategist comparing your product against top competitors.
Specific Info: Youâve collected [App Store reviews] and [G2 feedback] from 3 competitors.
Intent: Identify key differentiators and threats based on real user sentiment.
Response Format: SWOT comparison table with direct quote excerpts (1 per quadrant).
If tone of reviews is ambiguous, prompt with summary insights before output.
Follow-up: What user-expressed needs are unmet in all competitors?
Prompt Template 3: âFacilitate a SWOT Workshop With Cross-Functional Teamsâ
Facilitate a SWOT Workshop With Cross-Functional Teams
Context: You are a UX Lead running a cross-functional strategy session involving design, PM, CX, and marketing.
Specific Info: Your team is evaluating the product vision for [2025 roadmap planning].
Intent: Prepare workshop materials and a structure to run a collaborative SWOT workshop.
Response Format: Agenda + facilitator script + Miro or whiteboard structure suggestion.
Ask for clarification on session length or number of participants.
Suggest a quick method to prioritise items within the SWOT.
Prompt Template 4: âSynthesize User Feedback Into SWOT Insightsâ
Synthesize User Feedback Into SWOT Insights
Context: You are a UX researcher reviewing user feedback from surveys and chats.
Specific Info: Youâve received [300+ NPS responses] and [Zendesk tickets] over the last 30 days.
Intent: Analyse the data to derive strategic design insights using SWOT.
Response Format: Table or bullet list organised under SWOT quadrants.
Check if feedback includes different segments or products.
Suggest a visualisation to support presenting this to non-design audiences.
Prompt Template 5: âTurn SWOT Insights Into UX Strategy Statementsâ
Turn SWOT Insights Into UX Strategy Statements
Context: You are preparing a design strategy doc based on recent SWOT output.
Specific Info: Your current SWOT lists [3 strengths], [2 weaknesses], and [3 opportunity areas].
Intent: Convert SWOT items into 3 sharp, prioritised UX strategy statements.
Response Format: Each statement includes rationale and potential design focus.
If business goals are unclear, request them before writing.
Suggest how to test these strategies with users or stakeholders.
Prompt Template 6: âLink SWOT to OKRs for Executive Presentationâ
Link SWOT to OKRs for Executive Presentation
Context: Youâre representing UX strategy in the upcoming QBR with executives.
Specific Info: Youâve been asked to link SWOT findings to [FY24 OKRs].
Intent: Show how design initiatives address SWOT findings and OKRs alignment.
Response Format: 3 slides worth of points â 1 per quadrant with supporting OKR tags.
Clarify which OKRs matter most to stakeholders.
Suggest a story arc for presenting this as a narrative.
Prompt Template 7: âEvaluate Feature Ideas With SWOT Framingâ
Evaluate Feature Ideas With SWOT Framing
Context: You are reviewing a backlog of new feature concepts for an upcoming product sprint.
Specific Info: You have [7 proposed features] from product and sales input.
Intent: Use SWOT framing to help prioritise feature potential and risks.
Response Format: Table with SWOT quadrant evaluation per feature, plus a prioritisation score.
Ensure all features have articulable value props.
Ask which feature creates the most differentiation.
Prompt Template 8: âUse SWOT Results to Identify Key Personasâ
Use SWOT Results to Identify Key Personas
Context: You are creating personas for a new product segment based on recent SWOT findings.
Specific Info: SWOT revealed [new opportunity area] and [underserved user need].
Intent: Map these SWOT insights to provisional personas representing new user types.
Response Format: Persona cards (summary only) including pain points, goals, and quadrant fit.
Check for enough behavioural data first.
Suggest how these personas could affect design decisions.
Prompt Template 9: âCreate a SWOT-Informed UX Roadmapâ
Create a SWOT-Informed UX Roadmap
Context: Youâre planning next quarterâs UX work and want to align with SWOT results.
Specific Info: Your top priorities involve addressing [1 weakness] and leveraging [2 opportunity themes].
Intent: Create a UX roadmap (design or research workstreams) that flows from SWOT themes.
Response Format: Timeline layout with 3â5 initiative cards, each tied to SWOT item.
Confirm if tech dependencies or team capacity must be accounted for.
Suggest metrics or signals to track progress.
Prompt Template 10: âCoach a Junior Designer Through SWOT Thinkingâ
Coach a Junior Designer Through SWOT Thinking
Context: You are mentoring a junior UX designer tackling their first product strategy presentation.
Specific Info: Theyâve done a heuristic review and compiled user insights for a [B2B dashboard].
Intent: Help them apply SWOT to make a compelling case for design prioritisation.
Response Format: Coaching checklist + example strengths/opportunities based on provided work.
Ask for their current structure and what theyâre unsure about.
Offer tips for presenting this clearly to stakeholders.
Recommended Tools
- Miro â Ideal for collaborative SWOT boards
- Figma â For visualising SWOT outputs in decks or design briefs
- Diagrams.net â Simple tool for rolling your own matrices
- Goblin.Tools â Helpful for simplifying vague SWOT notes into actionables
