gap-analysis

Gap Analysis

Overview

A gap analysis is a decision method, not a scorecard: define a bounded question, establish an observable current state, justify a desired state, compare them, explain why the difference exists, and decide what to do. A credible result makes evidence, assumptions, uncertainty, ownership, and trade-offs visible.

When to use

Load this skill when the work compares current and desired performance, capability, controls, process behavior, readiness, maturity, operating model, or research evidence and must produce an actionable artifact. Choose the variant from references/variants.md.

When not to use

Do not use this as a substitute for root-cause analysis, a risk assessment, SWOT, benchmarking, a requirements specification, a regulatory/legal opinion, or an audit/certification conclusion. Route technical capacity questions to capacity-and-cost-engineering, governance questions to ai-governance, and causal diagnosis to systematic-debugging or the relevant domain owner. A gap analysis may expose a need for those disciplines; it does not replace them.

Core method

1. Frame the decision. State the decision or outcome, sponsor, population/system, time horizon, boundary, exclusions, and who will use the result.
2. Define the criterion. Make the target observable and source it to a requirement, outcome, benchmark, risk appetite, strategy, or explicitly labeled stakeholder preference. Do not invent a maturity scale or imply that a framework tier is a universal goal.
3. Specify evidence. For each dimension, define measure, unit, period, source, sampling, confidence, and acceptance rule before collecting data. Separate observed facts, reported perceptions, inferred causes, and assumptions.
4. Describe the current state. Use multiple relevant evidence types: records/metrics, direct observation, interviews, artifacts, tests, or research synthesis. Record missing and contradictory evidence instead of filling it with confidence.
5. Compare like with like. For every dimension, show current, target, difference, evidence, confidence, and consequence. A gap is a bounded difference, not merely a bad feeling or an absence of a preferred practice.
6. Characterize the gap. Distinguish outcome gap, capability/control gap, process gap, resource gap, knowledge/evidence gap, and decision/ownership gap. Keep root causes and proposed remedies separate from the observed gap.
7. Prioritize transparently. Use criteria appropriate to the decision, such as impact, urgency/exposure, reach, feasibility, dependency, cost, confidence, and reversibility. Show the rationale and do not hide value judgments inside a score.
8. Plan closure. Convert selected gaps into actions with a measurable closure condition, owner, dependencies, resources, date or review trigger, and residual risk. Assign an accountable decision-maker, not “the team.”
9. Validate and revisit. Review findings with affected stakeholders, test high-consequence claims, resolve material contradictions, and schedule a follow-up measurement. Closure means evidence that the target condition is met, not that an action was started.