COEPD – Center of Excellence for Professional Development Happy Learning
GAP Analysis
Every Organization needs continuous improvement in their process to produce the best result in their output. Gap Analysis is the process of tracking and developing the current state as per the desired future state to achieve their goals.
This involves the study and analysis of current state and compare it with the desired future state. To perform Gap analysis both the current state and future state should be defined. Hence the process helps to identify the extent by which the current state is aligned away from the actual state and what steps to be taken to fill that gap.
Gap analysis is mostly performed by the major Stakeholders involved in the project such as Business Analyst, Project Manager and Product owner.
Gap analysis basically involves following steps:
- Analyze Current state.
- Identify the ideal desired Future state.
- Find the gap and evaluate the solution.
- Create and implement the plan to bridge the gap
The change strategy to meet the needs of the organization to reach the desired state are planned and agreed upon by all the stakeholders involved in the project. Hence Gap analysis can affect different departments and at all levels of the organization.
This change or development process can be in terms either having a re-structured process or new element to be added in the project. This may also be a strategy to uplift the capabilities and skills of the team involved in all the stages of the project development.
Gap analysis can produce an requirement in the project to re-structure and upgrade the different entities such as:
- Project plans • Functions • Business plan
- Organizational structures • Team development • Technical approach
How GAP Analysis can benefit the Business?
The success of every company is rated in terms of the Profit it gained. If the Business is struggling then there is a need to focus on What is going wrong and How to improve it. In a nutshell the company needs to undergo Gap analysis.
Evaluate Current process and performance.
The first basic step for Gap analysis is to know what is going on currently. Evaluate the ongoing system, rate the performance of the team and analyze the process. For large business this process can be large and may need dedicated persons to work on it.
The process can also include customer survey, time tracking, team allotment and customer management process.
Identify areas that need Improvement
After the complete analysis of the Current state it is important to highlight the area which is needed to be improved. Few areas can be the strength of the project and some can be the weakness. Gap analysis mainly involves to troubleshoot the weak areas.
The weak elements can be of various types. It may be the working strategy, project planning, team skills or management. Each area needs to be identified and actual flaw has to be detected in the process.
Implement changes to reach the target
Implementing on plans is the most important task of every strategy. The areas determined for change requirement has to be worked over to overcome their weakness.
Well defined strategy and planning is needed to implement the change required. The person responsible to execute each change has to be decided.
Technology an asset
Use of the modern techniques of Data analysis, Business Intelligence tools and Project Management to monitor the project details is becoming essential. The data can be visualized in form of charts, graphs where in modern BI tools can always prove handy.
Filling the technology gap in the team and using proper working tools is very much needed so that it becomes efficient and easy to implement.
Getting right people on board
It is very important that the team with required skills and assets who has the capability to execute are on board. The higher management needs to get involved and assure that right people are assigned with the activities of their potential.
Good leadership and team management is also crucial to get the work done from the resources. If any conflicts in the team which is objecting the growth of the projects also needs to be solved so that the whole team is working with a positive mindset.
Financial assets
Some of the development in the project could cost money. The constraints identified could require financial budget to get resolved. This may be hiring new employee, training the team, developing working environment or any condition as the situation demands.
The management has to clear the finance required as a part of investment in the project. This investment can yield better results and profitable income for the company.
