TL;DR: Most SOAR analysis guides hand you a framework and a blank grid. This one shows IT company owners how to run a full SOAR analysis in six steps and turn the output into a prioritized action list your team can execute this week, not a slide deck that collects dust. You'll get a repeatable process tied to real decisions.
What is a SOAR analysis
SOAR is a strategic planning framework built around four quadrants: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. Jacqueline Stavros and Gina Hinrichs introduced it in The Thin Book of SOAR (2010) as a deliberate alternative to deficit-focused tools that spend most of their energy cataloging what's broken.
Where a traditional analysis asks "what's wrong and what threatens us," a soar analysis framework asks "what's working, where can we grow, and what does success look like?" That shift matters for IT teams specifically. Technical teams already carry a long backlog of problems. A planning session that opens with strengths and aspirations generates more honest input and higher buy-in than one that opens with weaknesses.
The four quadrants work together as a system. Strengths ground the conversation in reality. Opportunities point outward. Aspirations set the ambition. Results define the measurable finish line, which is what lets you track SOAR-driven goals and results in one dashboard rather than leaving them as slide-deck intentions.
For strategic planning for IT teams, that results quadrant is the practical anchor. Without it, SOAR stays motivational. With it, you have something to execute against.
Why SOAR analysis matters for your team
Running a soar analysis isn't just a planning exercise. It changes how your team makes decisions for the rest of the quarter.
Team alignment happens faster because everyone builds strategy from shared strengths rather than debating which weaknesses to fix first. When the starting point is "what are we already good at," you spend less time in defensive conversations and more time on direction.
Prioritization gets sharper: The soar analysis framework surfaces opportunities tied to real capabilities, so you're not chasing ideas your team can't execute. Pair that with a clear process for prioritizing the actions that come out of your SOAR session and your backlog shrinks fast.
Growth targets become concrete: The Results quadrant forces the team to name measurable outcomes before the session ends. That's a different output from most planning meetings. You can assess the potential impact of each opportunity you surface before committing resources.
Buy-in is higher because the process is generative, not critical. Strengths-based planning tends to produce more participation and less politics, which matters when you need the whole team executing, not just agreeing.
Once you have those outputs, you can track SOAR-driven goals and results in one dashboard rather than chasing updates across spreadsheets.
How SOAR analysis differs from SWOT analysis
Both frameworks work. The question is which one fits what you're trying to do right now.
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) was built for diagnostic work. It maps the full terrain, including what's broken and what could go wrong. SOAR narrows that lens deliberately: it drops weaknesses and threats in favor of aspirations and results, keeping the conversation anchored to what's possible.
Dimension | SWOT | SOAR |
|---|---|---|
Focus | Current state + risk | Strengths + future potential |
Emotional tone | Neutral to defensive | Generative, forward-looking |
Output type | Problem inventory | Action-oriented growth plan |
Best use case | Diagnosing gaps, pre-launch audits | Strategic planning for IT teams, culture shifts, growth cycles |
For soar vs swot decisions, the context matters more than the framework. If your IT leadership team needs to understand why a product launch stalled, SWOT gives you the honest post-mortem. If you're building next quarter's roadmap and need buy-in from engineers, project leads, and account managers, a soar analysis produces the kind of output people actually act on.
One practical note: SOAR sessions tend to surface more opportunities than a team can pursue at once. Before you close the session, spend time prioritizing the actions that come out of your SOAR session and assessing the potential impact of each opportunity you surface. That step is what separates a useful workshop from a slide deck that sits in a shared drive.
How to conduct a SOAR analysis in 6 steps
Running a soar analysis well comes down to preparation and the right people in the room. Here are six steps that take you from blank page to documented action plan.
1. Assemble a cross-functional group
Invite 5 to 8 people who see the business from different angles: a service delivery lead, a sales or account manager, a technical architect, and at least one person close to day-to-day client work. For an IT services firm, this mix surfaces strengths that a leadership-only session would miss entirely. Keep the group small enough to stay focused.
2. Set the context before you start
Share one or two grounding documents before the session: a recent client satisfaction summary, a revenue snapshot, or a pipeline report. Participants who arrive with shared context spend less time debating facts and more time generating ideas. A 15-minute pre-read is enough.
3. Work through each quadrant in order
Start with Strengths, then Opportunities, then Aspirations, then Results. That sequence matters. Starting with what you do well builds confidence and generates energy before you move into future-facing territory. For each quadrant, give participants five minutes of silent individual writing before opening group discussion. This prevents the loudest voice from anchoring everyone else.
A concrete example: an IT managed services provider might identify "24-hour response SLA with 98% adherence" as a core strength, then connect it directly to the opportunity of targeting mid-market clients who have outgrown break-fix support.
4. Prioritize what you surface
Not every idea belongs in your plan. Once all four quadrants are filled, vote on the top three to five items in Opportunities and Aspirations. A simple dot-vote (each participant gets three votes) takes under ten minutes and creates immediate alignment. For a more structured approach to prioritizing the actions that come out of your SOAR session, a weighted scoring method works well when the list is long.
5. Assess impact before committing
For each shortlisted opportunity, ask: what does success look like in 90 days, and what does it cost to pursue? This is where many teams skip a step. Before locking in priorities, assess the potential impact of each opportunity you surface against your current capacity and revenue targets.
6. Document outputs and assign ownership
A SOAR session with no documented output is a workshop, not a strategy. Capture the top items from each quadrant, the voted priorities, the 90-day success metrics, and a named owner for each action. Use a shared soar analysis template so the format is consistent if you run this quarterly. To track SOAR-driven goals and results in one dashboard, a centralized tool prevents the outputs from living in a slide deck nobody opens.
The full soar analysis framework runs in 90 to 120 minutes with a prepared facilitator. Most IT teams find that quarterly sessions are frequent enough to stay current without creating planning fatigue.
SOAR analysis template and examples
Three ready-to-use grids to make your soar analysis template concrete rather than theoretical.
IT services firm (external strategy)
Quadrant | Example content |
|---|---|
Strengths | Certified team, 98% SLA compliance, 12-year client retention |
Opportunities | Managed security demand up, clients consolidating vendors |
Aspirations | Become the primary IT partner for 20 mid-market accounts by Q4 |
Results | 3 new retainers signed per quarter, NPS above 60 |
Internal IT department (operational focus)
Quadrant | Example content |
|---|---|
Strengths | Strong helpdesk CSAT, low ticket backlog, cross-trained staff |
Opportunities | Shadow IT reduction, cloud migration budget approved |
Aspirations | Zero unplanned outages, self-service portal handling 40% of requests |
Results | Mean time to resolution under 4 hours, monthly uptime at 99.9% |
Personal development (individual contributor)
Quadrant | Example content |
|---|---|
Strengths | Deep scripting skills, strong stakeholder communication |
Opportunities | Team needs a project lead, certification budget available |
Aspirations | Move into an IT team lead role within 18 months |
Results | Complete ITIL 4 Foundation, lead one cross-functional project this quarter |
Once your grid is populated, assess the potential impact of each opportunity you surface before committing resources. Then focus on prioritizing the actions that come out of your SOAR session so aspirations become scheduled work rather than slide deck intentions.
Turn your SOAR outputs into tracked work
A SOAR session that ends with a whiteboard photo and no follow-up is just a meeting. The aspirations and results targets you define only create value when they become assigned tasks with owners and deadlines.
Start by converting each Results quadrant item into a measurable goal: a specific metric, a target date, and a named owner. Then prioritize the actions that come out of your SOAR session before your team disperses, because a list of twenty "priorities" is no priority at all.
For IT teams doing strategic planning, Taro's custom reports and analytics give you a single place to track SOAR-driven goals and results in one dashboard, so progress is visible without weekly status emails. You can also assess the potential impact of each opportunity you surface before committing resources.
One of the clearest soar analysis benefits is that it generates forward-looking commitments. But only if someone is accountable for each one.
Common mistakes to avoid in a SOAR analysis
Four mistakes consistently turn a SOAR analysis into a shelf document.
Running it solo: The soar analysis framework depends on diverse input. If only the founder or one department participates, you're auditing a single perspective, not the organization. Include at least one person from delivery, sales, and operations.
Skipping the Results quadrant: Most teams spend all their time on Strengths and Opportunities, then run out of energy before defining measurable targets. Without Results, the session produces ambition, not accountability.
Treating it as a one-time event: A SOAR session run once in January and forgotten by March tells you nothing useful. Revisit it quarterly, or whenever a major client or market shift happens.
Leaving outputs unassigned: This is where most frameworks fail. When you learn how to conduct a SOAR analysis properly, every aspiration maps to an owner and a deadline. Start by prioritizing the actions that come out of your SOAR session, then assess the potential impact of each opportunity you surface before committing resources.
Closing
A SOAR analysis turns strategic planning from a one-off meeting into a repeatable process. The six-step framework keeps the conversation grounded in what your team can actually execute, and the prioritization work at the end ensures those aspirations don't sit in a slide deck. Start with a free SOAR analysis template you can fill in with your team this week. Once the session wraps and priorities are locked, move those aspirations into Taro so each action gets a deadline, an owner, and real-time progress tracking. That's when SOAR stops being a planning exercise and becomes the backbone of how your team ships.
FAQ
What is a SOAR analysis?
SOAR is a strategic planning framework built on four quadrants: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. It's a strengths-based alternative to SWOT that focuses on what's working and where you can grow, rather than cataloging problems.
How do I conduct a SOAR analysis?
Assemble a cross-functional group of 5 to 8 people, share context before the session, work through each quadrant in order (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results), prioritize outputs with a dot-vote, assess impact against capacity, then document and assign ownership to each action.
What are the benefits of using SOAR analysis in business?
SOAR accelerates team alignment, sharpens prioritization by tying opportunities to real capabilities, makes growth targets measurable, and generates higher buy-in because the process is generative rather than critical.
How does SOAR analysis differ from SWOT analysis?
SWOT maps current state and risk (including weaknesses and threats); SOAR focuses on strengths and future potential. SOAR produces action-oriented growth plans; SWOT excels at post-mortems and diagnostic work.
Can I use SOAR analysis for personal development?
Yes. The framework works for individual career planning too. Apply the same four quadrants to your skills, market opportunities, career aspirations, and measurable milestones over the next 12 months.
How often should a team revisit its SOAR analysis?
Quarterly reviews keep the analysis fresh and aligned with changing market conditions. Annual deep-dives work if your business moves slower, but quarterly cadence is standard for IT services and product teams.
Who should be in the room for a SOAR analysis session?
Invite 5 to 8 people who see the business from different angles: service delivery, sales, technical architecture, and someone close to day-to-day client work. This mix surfaces strengths a leadership-only session would miss.
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Ryan Mitchell is a Productivity Specialist & Operations Consultant who helps fast-growing teams stop dropping balls and start moving with clarity. With experience scaling ops at startups across three continents, he writes about task systems, team accountability, and how the best businesses build workflows that actually stick.