Awhile ago, I wrote about how to conduct a gap analysis session. Today I realized that I never really discussed how to put everything together into a document that can be of use to all parties involved. Therefore, I decided to write about it now. I haven’t really seen a “proper way” to create a gap analysis document. Therefore, you have probably seen different versions of it. This is the one that I put together:
Introduction
Every document has an introduction. This is where you would introduce the project, the reason you are writing this document, and the scope. In some instances, you also want to give a short recap of the project’s history that got you to where you are conducting a gap analysis. The gap analysis benefits are essential to sway stakeholders that aren’t 100% sold that they have to change to a new system. People are afraid of change because this means that their entire world is going to be different. The way of doing things, the processes, even the business rules. Also, if you are trying to replace systems that are already in place, you would want to list those as well, and their main functional areas. The last piece is detailing the people who participated in the gap analysis session and their contact information.
Gap Analysis Methodology
As I stated in the beginning, not every gap analysis is the same. Therefore, you want to explain your methodology. How was the gap analysis conducted? How did you translated the findings into the document? For instance, if you are going to be color-coding the tables, what do the colors mean?
Gap Analysis Summary Results
You will have a spreadsheet of your findings. However, you also want to summarize them into paragraphs that makes it easy for people to read and get the gist of the findings. The best way to section them is by functional area. This makes it easy for the different groups involved to break the document involved and analyze the functionality that they are the subject-matter experts for. You want to start off with a few statements on what functionality is in that area. Questions to answer are what is working, what isn’t working. If you are analyzing a few systems, how were the system’s functionality similar and/or different. You want to refrain from favoring one system because you might offend the owners of it (politics, I know).
Gap Analysis Table
The best way to structure is by functionality, the systems, and any comments. The comments area is where you would want to include any references to any documentation that might be useful for the readers to understand the gap analysis better. There is no right or wrong way to write a gap analysis document. Just ensure that you detail all the findings in a way that people will understand, and you should be ok.
Tags: gap analysis, gap analysis details, gap analysis document, gap analysis example, gap analysis report
