What Is a Gap Assessment: Definition, How It Works and Industry Specific Examples

Updated on: 04 August 2025 | 7 min read

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A gap assessment helps you compare where you are now to where you need to be—so you can identify what’s missing and make improvements. In this guide, you’ll learn what a gap assessment is, when to use it, and how it supports better decision-making across skills, compliance, performance, and more.

What Is a Gap Assessment

A gap assessment is a structured way to find out what’s missing between where you are now and where you need to be. It helps you compare your current situation—like skills, systems, or processes—against specific goals, standards, or requirements.

While “gap assessment” and “gap analysis” are often used interchangeably, they’re not exactly the same. An assessment is usually the first step—it focuses on identifying what the gaps are by comparing current practices to expectations. A gap analysis goes further by digging into why those gaps exist and what actions are needed to close them.

Think of it this way:

Gap assessment shows what’s missing
Gap analysis explains why it’s missing and how to fix it

Together, they help you make smarter decisions and take action with clarity.

Key Components of a Gap Assessment

A assessment is built around a few core elements that help you clearly identify what’s missing and what needs to improve:

Current state: This is where things stand right now—your team’s skills, process performance, system capabilities, or compliance status.
Required or desired state: This is what you’re aiming for—goals, industry standards, regulatory requirements, or internal benchmarks.
The gap: This is the difference between the current and required states. It shows exactly what’s missing, underperforming, or misaligned.
Assessment criteria: These are the specific benchmarks or indicators used to measure how far off the current state is from expectations.
Recommendations or next steps: Once the gaps are identified, this step outlines what actions are needed to close them—whether it’s training, process changes, or new tools.

When to Use It

They are useful anytime you need to understand where things stand compared to where they should be. Common situations include:

Before starting a new project or initiative to check readiness
To ensure compliance with regulations or industry standards
When identifying training or skills needs within a team
During organizational change or restructuring
To evaluate tools, processes, or systems against best practices
After audits or performance reviews to spot improvement areas

How to Conduct a Gap Assessment

Step 1. Define your objectives

Start by clearly stating what you’re assessing and why. Are you checking compliance? Team skills? Operational readiness? Setting a clear goal helps guide the entire process.

Step 2. Identify the required state

Outline the standards, benchmarks, or goals you’re aiming to meet. These might come from industry regulations, internal KPIs, or project goals.

Step 3. Assess the current state

Gather data on how things are working right now. This could involve surveys, interviews, audits, or performance reports—whatever helps paint an accurate picture.

Step 4. Compare and identify gaps

Match your current state against the expected state. Where do things fall short? What’s missing or underperforming?

Step 5. Document and prioritize gaps

Not all gaps are equal. Highlight the most critical ones that impact your goals or compliance—and list them clearly with evidence.

Step 6. Make recommendations

Suggest what needs to change: training, process improvements, tool upgrades, or policy updates. Keep it focused and actionable.

Step 7. Visualize your findings

Turn your assessment into a clear, visual map that’s easy to share and act on. Use Creately templates, smart shapes, and connectors to outline your current state, target goals, gaps, and recommended actions. Organize insights with swimlanes or Kanban layouts, and add data fields or comments for extra context.

Step 8. Use AI to speed up the process

With Creately AI, you can generate a complete gap assessment structure from a simple text prompt. Just describe your current state and goals, and AI will create a diagram you can refine and collaborate on with your team — saving hours of manual setup.

Gap Assessment Examples for Different Industries

HR: Assessing if employees have the skills and experience needed to step into leadership roles.

exit full-screen — Leadership Readiness Gap Assessment

Healthcare: Checking whether a clinic meets the latest regulatory requirements to stay compliant.

Education: Reviewing a school’s curriculum to ensure it aligns with state education standards.

IT: Evaluating security systems to see if they meet ISO or NIST cybersecurity standards.

Technical: Identifying gaps in technology infrastructure, software capabilities, or system integrations to ensure they support business needs and future growth.

Gap Analysis vs. Gap Assessment

Although gap analysis and assessment are closely related — and often appear together in search results — they have slightly different uses and approaches. This table outlines the key differences.

Aspect	Gap analysis	Gap assessment
Purpose	To compare the current state with the desired future state and find the gaps.	To evaluate the current state in detail to understand strengths, weaknesses, and readiness.
Scope	Typically narrower, focused on specific goals, processes, or metrics.	Broader, may cover multiple areas to give a full picture of performance or readiness.
Focus	Pinpointing the exact difference between where you are and where you want to be.	Understanding the current situation in depth before deciding on improvements.
Approach	Compare defined benchmarks or goals with actual performance.	Collect and analyze detailed data about the current state without necessarily defining a target yet.
Output	A clear list of gaps and the steps needed to close them.	A report or evaluation highlighting areas for improvement and potential gaps.
Data collection	Often targeted, using specific metrics, KPIs, or benchmarks.	Broader data gathering through surveys, interviews, audits, or observations.
Follow‑up action	Create and implement an action plan to close the identified gaps.	Use the assessment findings to decide whether to run a detailed gap analysis or other improvement process.

References

Kim, S. and Ji, Y. (2018). Gap Analysis. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327879112_Gap_Analysis.

Einstein, B. (2024). How Gap Analysis Can Drive Strategic Change in Your Company. [online] Business Insights Blog. Available at: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/gap-analysis.

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FAQs About the Gap Assessment

What techniques are best for assessing a gap?

Common techniques include surveys and questionnaires to gather input, interviews and focus groups for deeper insights, audits and inspections to check compliance, and data analysis to measure performance. Visual mapping tools like Creately are great for organizing and presenting your findings clearly, helping teams understand gaps and plan next steps.

How detailed should an assessment be?

It depends on your goals. Some assessments need high-level overviews, while others require in-depth data and evidence to make informed decisions.

Can I do an assessment without benchmarks?

Benchmarks or standards are important for comparison. Without them, it’s hard to know what “gap” you’re measuring. If none exist, you may need to define your own goals first.

Who should be involved in assessing a gap?

Ideally, those with a clear understanding of the area being assessed—such as managers, subject matter experts, or external auditors—should lead or support the process.

What are the different types of gap assessments?

Common types include skills or training assessments, compliance assessments, operational readiness assessments, IT security assessments, and healthcare compliance assessments. Each focuses on specific gaps relevant to its field.

Why is a gap assessment useful?

A gap assessment gives you a clear picture of how your current state compares to required standards or goals. It helps you pinpoint weaknesses, compliance issues, or readiness gaps so you can address them before they become bigger problems. This makes it easier to prioritize improvements, allocate resources effectively, and plan next steps with confidence.

What is the best tool to conduct a gap assessment?

Creately is the fastest and easiest way to run a gap assessment. You can:

Pick a template – Start with a ready-made gap assessment template.
Use AI – Describe your current state and goals; Creately AI builds your framework instantly.
Customize – Add details, notes, and links to make it your own.
Collaborate – Work with your team in real time.
Plan actions – Convert findings into a Kanban board or task list to track progress.

gap analysis strategy and planning

Author

Amanda Athuraliya Communications Specialist

Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

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