GAP ANALYSIS
Knowledge Gap Analysis
A knowledge gap analysis is a half day meeting where the members of a product development project
team come together to define the missing knowledge which the team needs to find or create, in order
to successfully deliver the project.
Knowledge Gap Analysis purpose
The purpose of a Knowledge Gap Analysis session is for a product development team, as part of a
Knowledge-Based Product Development program, to discuss and define the critical knowledge that
needs to be acquired and/or created before the product design stage can be completed. By rigorously
working through the knowledge gaps, the team can avoid any unplanned loop-backs later in the process
caused by a lack of knowledge.
Knowledge Gap Analysis method
The Knowledge Gap Analysis workshop involves agreement on the requirements and functional
specifications for the new product, identification of knowledge gaps, and agreement on actions to close
the gaps. The process is conducted using a schematic of the product on a whiteboard, and the use of
post-it notes to identify the knowledge gaps.
Knowledge Gap Analysis benefits
The work plan which is produced at the Knowledge Gap Analysis session ensures that all unknowns
related to the product, its specifications and its components are identifed and resolved early in the
development process, thus resulting in fewer loop-backs and faster and more effective product
development.
Benefits and Challenges of a Gap Analysis
Gap analyses are a frequently-used tool because of the many benefits they can bring to the companies
and organizations that implement them. These benefits include the following:
Insight into areas that need improvement, such as efficiency, products, profitability, processes, customer
satisfaction, performance, participation, and competitive advantage
Ensuring that project requirements have been met
Finding areas of weakness and shortcomings to address
Uncovering differences in perception vs. reality
Providing information to guide decision makers, which can lead to better decisions
Finding the best places to deploy resources and focus energy
Prioritization of needs
If performed well, the results of a gap analysis are clear and easy to understand
GAP ANALYSIS
While valuable, gap analyses are not perfect. Some challenges related to the gap analysis process
include the following:
Successful completion depends on knowledge and persistence of the people involved in the
process.
While the process may expose some causes, if it doesn't go deep enough, the proposed
resolutions will not address the real root cause or can miss the complexities behind them. For
example, when evaluating sales performance, an analysis might conclude that sales reps are not
offering a new product enough, but may not find out why. Are they not familiar enough with the
product? Are customers unwilling to change from an exsisiitng product? Or does the new
product not work as advertised?
The analysis can be inaccurate, as the ground is constantly shifting (especially in large
organizations or in fast-moving industries)
How to Perform a Gap Analysis
In larger organizations, the gap analysis process generally falls under the purview of business analysts,
project managers, process improvement teams or management. But with a little training, and a well-
designed template, anyone can work through the process.
Some organizations may already have a process outlined that you can follow. However, the basic steps
for performing a gap analysis are explained below.
1. Identify the area to be analyzed and identify the goals to be accomplished.
For example, you may want to figure out why your factory is not meeting its output target. The goal will
be to discover the causes that contributed to targets not being met, and recommend how to remove the
causes.
2. Establish the ideal future state. If everything worked according to plan, where would you be?
3. Analyze the current state. What causes contributed to the targets being missed? For example,
were the workers not trained well enough? Was the production floor short-staffed? Were
required materials consistnelty available? Did the layout of the production floor slow things
down?
GAP ANALYSIS
4. Compare the current state with the ideal state. How far from the target was actual production?
For example, did you expect to produce 1,000 units per hour, but only managed to produce 800
units per hour?
5. Describe the gap and quantify the difference. In the unit production example (described in step
4), there would be a 20 percent shortfall. After researching the potential causes, outline the
contribution of each to the gap. In this example, we may find that insufficient training caused 5
percent of the gap, staffing problems caused 7 percent, material shortages caused 2 percent,
and inefficient layout of the factory floor caused 14 percent. Companies can use other ratings
systems to quantify the difference that can be as basic as simple terminology like good, fair, and
poor, to something more detailed like a 1-50 scale.
6. Summarize the recommendations and create plan to bridge the gaps. Decide what needs to be
changed and determine what steps need to be taken to fix things. In this example, the team
performing the analysis may decide the layout issue is the easiest to tackle and will have the
greatest impact, so they might recommend ways to address it. Then they could work with the
supply chain and staffing teams to create recommendations for those issues as well. They would
summarize their ideas and present it to management to begin planning the improvements.
