{"id":58756,"date":"2025-06-19T21:51:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T21:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T21:51:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T21:51:01","slug":"the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model","status":"publish","type":"product-content","link":"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gap analysis is one of the traditional methods of identifying training needs. It is particularly appropriate for training in set procedures or processes and for manual work. It consists of finding the reasons for a mistake, problem or fault and then assessing the role that training can play in improving the performance of an individual, group or team.<\/p><p>One of the most important things to establish when analyzing training needs is whether or not training is actually necessary. It would be pointless to spend money on a new training scheme if the problem lay outside the training sphere, i.e. if the faults were due to poor equipment or badly designed business processes.<\/p><p>Gap analysis can quickly establish the reason for the fault, and so provide information as to whether training is the appropriate solution. In its simplest form, gap analysis can be divided into seven steps: the 7 Ds:<\/p><p> <\/p><div class=\"ew-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model 2\" data-name=\"migration-TheSevenDsGapAnalysisModelIMGB2.png\" data-size=\"11193\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-TheSevenDsGapAnalysisModelIMGB2.png?q=60&amp;fm=webp&amp;w=700&amp;h=588\" width=\"532\"\/><div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><p> These simple steps should give a reason for the occurrence of the fault, mistake or problem; establish whether or not the fault is a result of a training deficiency; and provide a framework for plugging the gap.<\/p><p>For example, an organization might develop a fault in a process such as producing editing guidelines for a magazine. Following the 7 Ds would rectify the process:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> <strong>Describe the fault <\/strong>\u2013 there are inconsistencies in the standards of editing.   <\/li><li> <strong>Discover how the fault occurred <\/strong>\u2013 there are mistakes in the editing guidance.   <\/li><li> <strong>Define the immediate cause <\/strong>\u2013 the editing guidance.   <\/li><li> <strong>Diagnose <\/strong>\u2013 the editorial team is submitting work that does not meet the magazine\u2019s editing standards.   <\/li><li> <strong>Determine responsibility <\/strong>\u2013 the responsibility lies with the people compiling the editing guidance.   <\/li><li> <strong>Decide <\/strong>\u2013 produce a definitive version of the guidelines and have a training session with the editorial team to explain the new system.   <\/li><li> <strong>Design a system that will prevent the fault recurring <\/strong>\u2013 ensure that there is one person with the final responsibility for checking the guidance to make sure that it is consistent and fault-free. <\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gap analysis is a traditional method of analysing training needs. This model provides a framework for identifying and problems or shortfalls in performance, highlighting development needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"product-content-category":[7142],"product-content-type":[2580],"reading-time":[5124],"class_list":["post-58756","product-content","type-product-content","status-publish","hentry","product-content-category-development-plans-and-discussions","product-content-type-article","reading-time-2-minutes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model - Mindtools<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gap analysis is a traditional method of analysing training needs. This model provides a framework for identifying and problems or shortfalls in performance, highlighting development needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model - Mindtools\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gap analysis is a traditional method of analysing training needs. This model provides a framework for identifying and problems or shortfalls in performance, highlighting development needs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mindtools\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-TheSevenDsGapAnalysisModelIMGB2.png?q=60&amp;fm=webp&amp;w=700&amp;h=588\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-19T21:51:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\"},\"wordCount\":330,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ewnova.live\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-TheSevenDsGapAnalysisModelIMGB2.png?q=60&amp;fm=webp&amp;w=700&amp;h=588\",\"keywords\":[\"analysis\",\"fault\",\"model\",\"systems\",\"training\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/\",\"name\":\"The Seven Ds Gap Analysis Model - Mindtools\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ewnova.live\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/afrcrhi\/the-seven-ds-gap-analysis-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-TheSevenDsGapAnalysisModelIMGB2.png?q=60&amp;fm=webp&amp;w=700&amp;h=588\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-19T21:51:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Gap analysis is a traditional method of analysing training needs. 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