Development of the SWOT Analysis Method as a Tool for Influencing Project Planning and Synthesis of Management Decisions

The article is devoted to the issues of strategic project analysis and synthesis of management decisions. The study examines the issues of setting the task of strategic management in the context of various project management standards and their development. The normative and methodological significance of including strategic goal-setting in the context of project management and the participation of project managers in developing the development strategy of parent organizations as a whole is emphasized. The significance of a systemic solution to this problem within the framework of a technological approach is substantiated, with an analysis of the interaction of the project management object and the environment at all stages from strategic goal-setting to the synthesis of project decisions. It is shown that in the conditions of essential novelty and high uncertainty of the project implementation environment, the most rational method for solving this problem is an expert one. The advantages and disadvantages of using SWOT analysis for this purpose are considered, the main advantage of which is the systematic nature, and the disadvantage is the non-verifiability of expert judgments. An approach to improving the method is proposed. In order to ensure the verifiability of expert assessments in the process of strategic analysis and synthesis, a step-by-step use of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method by Thomas Saaty and the corresponding algorithm of system analysis and synthesis in the SWOT analysis process is proposed. The conducted research develops methodological and applied tools for strategic analysis and synthesis of project solutions, both for project management objects in general and for individual projects and programs.