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Download gap analysis template in Microsoft Excel format.
Understanding the Gap Analysis Example
Are you a business professional having trouble understanding or relaying the process of gap analysis to your employees? Would a gap analysis example—one created by another professional—be a useful tool? If so, you may find the following information very useful. In this brief article we will explain, in simple terms, the process known as gap analysis and show you what to look for when searching for a gap analysis example online.
Gap Analysis: In Simple Terms
Remember back in school when teachers use to say to your parents, “He’s a fine student, but he could be doing better,” or “He’s just not living up to his potential.” If so, you already have a basic idea of gap analysis.
Gap analysis is a tool used by project planners and business analysts to study the difference between where a given company is at the present and where that company would like to be—in terms of profits, customer service, resource management and many other areas. The space between these two conditions—what is at the moment versus the desired outcome—is known as the “gap,” and by studying this gap business leaders can make decisions on what processes, equipment, technology, staff and other resources are needed to close that gap and reach the desired outcome. In short, then, analysts using the gap analysis process are trying to discover why a business is not living up to its potential.
Finding a Gap Analysis Example
If you were to type in the keywords “gap analysis example” into your favorite search engine, you’d probably be surprised by how many results your search returned. You could even narrow your search a bit by also including the type of business you’re in or the project you’re attempting to complete. The examples you’ll find through your search—some which are better than others—will give you a fairly good idea about the gap analysis process and whether or not it could benefit your business.
Because every business is different, not all gap analysis templates are the same, but at their core they should all contain three separate charts or worksheets. These are listed below:
- Current Status. The current status of the company will include many different factors, but some of the items you’ll most likely see are: staff hours, resources, current processes and policies, technology and current profits.
- Desired Status. The desired status is basically where the company would like to be right now. On this chart you will see many of the same items listed on the first, however, the new numbers and information are projections. For example, how many more (or less) staffing hours are needed to reach X amount of profits?
- The Gap. In essence, the gap can best be described as the difference between desired status and current status. In other words, the items that will need to be addressed to reach the desired outcome. For example, “can the company achieve a greater profit margin and reach more customers by improving their information technology?”
As you can see, gap analysis is really not as technical as it seems. Now that you have a fairly good idea with regard to the gap analysis process, finding a gap analysis example that can benefit your company—one which will be fairly easy to explain to your employees—should be a relatively easy task.