Use the Milestone Three Assignment Template to complete this milestone. The PEST analysis is designed to help you analyze the political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological changes in your business environment.

It can also help you understand the big-picture forces of change as well as the opportunities that are present. The PEST analysis is useful for several reasons:

It helps you spot business and/or personal opportunities

Gives you advance warning of significant threats

It can help reveal the direction of change within your business environment, which can help you work with change rather than against it

It helps you avoid starting projects that are likely to fail for reasons beyond your control

It can help you break free of unconscious assumptions when you enter a new market or region by giving you a more objective view of this new area

The PEST analysis differs from the SWOT analysis because the PEST looks at the big-picture factors that may influence a decision, market, or potential new business, while the SWOT analysis looks at these factors at an individual or product level.

In using the PEST, consider thinking about the changes that are happening around you. Think about opportunities that arise from these changes and threats or issues that could result from them.

Read PEST Analysis: Identifying "Big Picture" Opportunities and Threats to understand the four quadrants and questions that you should be asking yourself.

View the video or read the transcript of the associated video in the article. Use the assignment template to fill in the boxes in the template with elements that relate to your organization and industry.

You are encouraged to use results from your self-assessments that deal with groups/teams and the organization as you complete the analysis.