What is the difference between a gap analysis and a SWOT?

A SWOT looks outward and inward at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to choose a direction. A gap analysis starts once the direction is chosen and measures the distance to it, area by area, with actions.

How do you define the future state?

With a number and a date wherever possible: 30 minutes by Q4, three qualified setters by June. A future state written as 'better' cannot be closed.

How many areas should the board have?

Five to ten. If the assessment produced forty findings, group them with an affinity diagram first, then make a row per group.

Gap analysis or value stream map?

A value stream map is a specific gap analysis for flow: the current and future state of one product family. A gap analysis is the general form, for any set of areas: skills, 5S, delivery, a standard. Teams often list a map's kaizen bursts as rows on a gap analysis.

Who owns the gap analysis?

The person accountable for the transformation or the standard, usually the plant manager or the CI lead. Each row has its own owner for the actions.

How often do you redo it?

Reassess on the dates in the future state column, and in any case once or twice a year. Update the current state column as actions close, so the board shows the gap shrinking.

Lean Studio board · Improvement & ideas

Gap Analysis board

In one sentence

A gap analysis compares the current state with a required future state for each area that matters, names the gap between them in words and numbers, and lists the actions that close it.

A gap analysis puts the current state and the future state side by side for each area that matters, names the gap between them, and plans the actions that close it. It is the planning board for a transformation, a new standard or an audit finding: where we are, where we need to be, and what gets us there.

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Area	Current state	Future state	Gap	Actions
Changeover, press 2	42 min average	30 min by Q4	12 min	Off-line die pre-heat · T. Nguyen
5S, weld cell	Score 61 of 125	90 of 125	29 points	Shadow boards and a photo standard · R. Patel
Skills, night shift	1 setter qualified	3 setters qualified	2 people	OJT plan for two operators · A. Kaur
On-time delivery	93%	97%	4 points	Friday release of Monday pick lists · J. Lind

When to use it

When to use the Gap Analysis board

After an assessment or a customer audit, to turn the findings into a plan.
At the start of a lean programme, to compare the plant against a maturity model or a sister site.
When a new standard (safety, quality, a certification) is coming and the team must plan the work.
Between a current-state and a future-state value stream map, to list the kaizen bursts as actions.

What is on the board

1
Area
One row per topic: a process, a KPI, a requirement.
2
Current state
Where the area is today, with a measure where there is one.
3
Future state
Where it needs to be, and by when.
4
Gap
The difference, in words and in numbers.
5
Actions
What closes the gap, with an owner and a date.

Running it

How to run a Gap Analysis session

1
Fix the future state first and get it agreed: a maturity model, a customer standard, a sister plant's numbers. Without an agreed target there is no gap, only opinion.
2
Choose five to ten areas. If an assessment produced forty findings, group them with an affinity diagram first.
3
Bring the people who own each area and someone who knows the standard. Typically a half-day.
4
For each area, write the current state with a measure, the future state with a number and a date, and then the gap as the difference.
5
Plan the actions that close each gap, with an owner and a date, and be honest where the gap is a skill or a person rather than a process.
6
Rank the gaps by size and risk; not every gap needs closing this quarter.
7
Good output: a board a sponsor can read in five minutes, each gap with a number, each action with a name, and a date for the next reassessment.

Worked example · sample data

Worked example

The sample board covers four areas. Changeover on press 2 averages 42 minutes against a future state of 30 by Q4, a 12-minute gap, closed by off-line die pre-heating owned by T. Nguyen. 5S in the weld cell scores 61 out of 125 against a target of 90, a 29-point gap, closed by shadow boards and a photo standard owned by R. Patel. The night shift has one qualified setter against a need for three, a gap of two people, closed by an on-the-job training plan for two operators owned by A. Kaur. On-time delivery is 93% against 97%, a four-point gap, closed by releasing Monday pick lists on Friday, owned by J. Lind. The team ranked the setter gap highest, since one person off sick stops the shift, and moved its actions onto the kaizen action tracker first.

The board shown at the top of this page, read through. Invented data, not a customer.

Common mistakes

A future state written as 'better' or 'world class'. Give it a number and a date.
Current states from memory. Measure them, or the gap is a guess.
Forty rows. Group first.
Actions without owners, so the board is a diagnosis without a treatment.
Never reassessing. A gap analysis is a snapshot; put the next one in the calendar.
Closing the gap on paper by lowering the future state. Keep the target; change the date if you must, with a reason.

How it works in Lean Studio

1
Start from the Gap Analysis template: a row per area with current state, future state, gap and actions across the board.
2
Fill the current and future states with text and a number where you have one; write the gap on a sticky in between.
3
Add an action sticky per gap with the owner's name, then move the actions to a kaizen action tracker to follow them.
4
Save the finished board to My templates so the next team starts from your version.

Lean Studio boards are drawn with stickies, text, shapes (rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, diamond), arrows and charts, and any board can carry the 15 data widgets, from a scorecard to a kanban. See all widgets and boards.

Also in LeanSuite

Where it goes next in LeanSuite

LeanSuite's Kaizen module runs improvement events and projects with owners, due dates and tracked savings.

Each closing action becomes a Kaizen project with owners, phases, due dates and savings tracked against plant targets. Kaizen & Projects
A skills gap is shown person by person on the live skills matrix, and gap planning suggests courses and Kaizen projects to close it, with training assigned from the gap view. Competency Management
A 5S or standard gap is measured by a scored audit with a pass mark, scheduled and completed on a tablet, so the reassessment is a number. Audit Management
Each area's measure can be a KPI with a target and RAG ranges on the dashboard. KPI Dashboards

See Kaizen & Projects

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Gap Analysis is one of the 30 ready-made boards in Lean Studio, LeanSuite's whiteboard. Try the interactive demo in your browser with sample data, or pilot LeanSuite on your own lines for 90 days, with the setup done by our team.

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