A gap analysis is a method of assessing the performance of a business unit to determine whether business requirements or objectives are being met and, if not, what steps should be taken to meet them.
The “gap” in the gap analysis process refers to the space between “where we are” as a part of the business (the present state) and “where we want to be” (the target state or desired state).
In information technology, gap analysis reports often are used by project managers and process improvement teams as the starting point for an action plan to produce operational improvement.
Performance gaps can be measured across multiple areas of the business, including customer satisfaction, revenue generation, productivity and supply chain cost.
Small businesses, in particular, can benefit from performing gap analyses when they’re in the process of figuring out how to allocate resources.