Strategy
PESTEL Analysis
Separate external signals from internal noise.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which external changes are already supported by evidence?
Start with a company question, not an empty framework.
The free manual workspace connects PESTEL, Five Forces, VRIO, and SWOT into one company report. Browse 43 guides to understand each method; other editable routes are not available yet.
Start a company reportThe four-step company-analysis route
Start outside the company, move into industry economics, test internal capabilities, and synthesize only after the upstream work is visible.
- 01PESTELUse this route
Which external changes could alter the decision?
Included in the four-step manual route - 02Five ForcesUse this route
Where does industry pressure affect value and margin?
Included in the four-step manual route - 03VRIOUse this route
Which capabilities could support an advantage?
Included in the four-step manual route - 04SWOT+Use this route
What do the internal and external findings imply together?
Included in the four-step manual route
The wider guide library
Use these guides to learn the purpose, prompts, and limits of each method. A guide may be useful even when it is not part of an editable Strategy Analyst route.
Strategy
Porter's Five Forces
See where market structure captures margin.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Who could displace us from the position we want, and why?
Strategy
VRIO Analysis
Test whether a capability can create durable advantage.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Which specific resource or capability creates customer or economic value?
Strategy
Evidence-backed SWOT
Connect internal capabilities with the external environment.
20–30 minQuestion answered
Which strengths are supported by customer behavior?
Decisions
Weighted Decision Matrix
Compare realistic options against transparent criteria.
20–35 minQuestion answered
Which options are genuinely mutually exclusive?
Strategy
Scenario Planning
Stress-test a decision across several plausible futures.
40–60 minQuestion answered
Which two uncertainties would change the outcome most?
Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy
Redesign value instead of competing head-to-head.
45–70 minQuestion answered
What does the industry treat as essential without evidence?
Product
Jobs to Be Done
Understand the progress people hire a product to make.
30–50 minQuestion answered
What progress is the customer trying to make?
Product
Opportunity Solution Tree
Connect desired outcomes, opportunities, and experiments.
35–55 minQuestion answered
Which measurable outcome are we trying to change?
Product
RICE Prioritization
Balance reach, impact, confidence, and effort.
20–35 minQuestion answered
How many people will the initiative reach in this period?
Product
Kano Model
Separate basic expectations from genuine delight drivers.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Without which capability would the product feel broken?
Decisions
Premortem
Find failure modes before they become expensive.
20–30 minQuestion answered
Imagine the decision failed: what exactly happened?
Decisions
Six Thinking Hats
Separate facts, emotions, risks, and ideas in time.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which facts do we have before interpretation?
Operations
Five Whys
Move from a symptom to a cause you can influence.
15–25 minQuestion answered
Which observable symptom are we trying to explain?
Operations
SIPOC
See a process from supplier to recipient.
25–40 minQuestion answered
What process output does the customer receive?
Operations
Impact / Effort Matrix
Separate quick wins from expensive distractions.
15–25 minQuestion answered
Which outcome would each initiative change?
Team
Stakeholder Map
Map each participant by influence, interest, and position.
20–35 minQuestion answered
Who can accelerate or block the decision?
Team
RACI
Assign responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed roles.
20–30 minQuestion answered
Who is the single accountable owner of the outcome?
Team
OKRs
Turn direction into measurable outcomes.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which qualitative change sets the direction?
Decisions
Issue Tree
Break one case question into testable, non-overlapping drivers.
20–35 minQuestion answered
What single decision question sits at the root of the case?
Decisions
Recommendation Roadmap
Turn a recommendation into sequenced tests and actions.
20–35 minQuestion answered
What must happen in the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
Strategy
CAGE Distance Framework
Expose cross-border distance that changes market attractiveness.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Which cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic distances matter?
Strategy
TAM / SAM / SOM
Bound the reachable opportunity with transparent assumptions.
30–50 minQuestion answered
What customer, geography, use case, and period define this market?
Product
Lean Canvas
Connect an early venture hypothesis to its riskiest assumptions.
35–50 minQuestion answered
Whose urgent problem is being solved, and what evidence shows it exists?
Strategy
Unit Economics
Test whether growth creates or consumes economic value.
35–55 minQuestion answered
What is the unit, payer, realized price, and variable cost?
Product
Experiment Map
Match the riskiest assumption to the cheapest credible test.
20–35 minQuestion answered
Which assumption has the highest uncertainty and consequence?
Strategy
Ansoff Matrix
Choose among market penetration, development, product development, and diversification.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which products and markets are genuinely current versus new?
Strategy
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Choose a valuable segment and a credible position.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Which segments differ in needs, economics, or purchase behavior?
Strategy
Competitive Positioning Map
Compare offers on the purchase criteria that actually matter.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which two purchase criteria explain meaningful customer choice?
Product
Customer Journey Map
Find the moments that shape conversion, value, and retention.
35–55 minQuestion answered
What job and trigger move the customer into the journey?
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Map plausible causes before narrowing to a root cause.
25–40 minQuestion answered
What precise, observable effect sits at the head of the diagram?
Operations
PDCA Improvement Cycle
Run an improvement as a measurable learning loop.
20–35 minQuestion answered
What change, baseline, target, owner, and period define the plan?
Team
McKinsey 7S
Test alignment across strategy, structure, systems, and people.
40–60 minQuestion answered
What change is required across the seven elements?
Team
Force Field Analysis
Compare the forces enabling and resisting a change.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which forces actively support the desired change?
Team
Change Roadmap
Sequence organizational change around ownership and adoption signals.
30–45 minQuestion answered
Which behavior or operating outcome defines the target state?
Decisions
Decision Criteria
Define the standard of choice before comparing alternatives.
15–25 minQuestion answered
Which outcomes and constraints make an option acceptable?
Decisions
Benchmark Matrix
Compare alternatives on consistent, observable dimensions.
25–40 minQuestion answered
Which alternatives solve the same job and belong in the comparison?
Strategy
Business Model Canvas
Connect customer value, delivery, and economics in one model.
35–55 minQuestion answered
Who is the user, buyer, and payer, and what value do they receive?
Strategy
Value Chain Analysis
Locate where activities create differentiation, cost, or dependency.
35–50 minQuestion answered
Which primary and supporting activities create customer value?
Product
Value Proposition Canvas
Test the fit between a customer job and the promised value.
25–40 minQuestion answered
What job, pain, and desired gain is specific to the target customer?
Strategy
Marketing Mix (4Ps / 7Ps)
Align the offer, price, channel, and promotion with the target segment.
35–55 minQuestion answered
Which target segment and position anchor the mix?
Product
ICE Prioritization
Rank initiatives by impact, confidence, and ease.
15–25 minQuestion answered
What measurable impact could each initiative create?
Decisions
Risk Matrix
Prioritize threats by likelihood, consequence, and detectability.
20–35 minQuestion answered
Which concrete event could prevent the intended outcome?
Not sure which method to use?
Start with your company question