y the 1960s, the capstone business policy course at the Harvard Business School included the concept of matching the distinctive competence of a company (its strengths and weaknesses) with its environment (opportunities and threats) in the context of its objectives. This framework came to be known by the acronym SWOT and was "a major step forward in bringing explicitly competitive thinking to bear on questions of strategy." Kenneth R. Andrews helped popularize the framework via a 1963 conference and it remains commonly used in practice.[2]
A SWOT analysis is an organized design method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats complex within the person or the group or the organization where the functional process takes place.
SWOT analysis involves both internal and external factors in an organization.such that the first two elements indicate internal capability and limitations while the last two factors indicate chances in business and limitations.(SW =strength and weakness are internal factors while OT= Opportunities and threats are external issues to a business).