PESTLE Analysis

http://www.rapidbi.com/created/the-PESTLE-analysis-tool.html

PESTLE is a simple framework that helps understand the big picture of the Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors of the environment we are operating in. It can be used in conjunction with SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Some examples are:
Political -
Trading policies
Funding, grants and initiatives
International pressure groups
Wars and conflict
Government policies
Government term and change
Elections
Inter-country relationships/attitudes
Terrorism
Political trends
Governmental leadership
Government structures
Internal political issues
Shareholder/ stakeholder needs/ demands

Economic -
Home economy situation
Home economy trends
Overseas economies and trends
General taxation issues
Taxation changes specific to product/services
Seasonality/weather issues
Market and trade cycles
Specific industry factors
Market routes and distribution trends
Customer/end-user drivers
International trade/monetary issues
Disposable income
Job growth/unemployment
Exchange rates
Tariffs (i.e. duties)
Inflation
Interest and exchange rates
Consumer confidence index
Import/export ratios
Production level
Internal finance
Internal cash flow

Social -
Consumer attitudes and opinions
Media views
Law changes affecting social factors
Brand, company, technology image
Consumer buying patterns
Major social events and influences
Buying access and trends
Ethnic/religious factors
Advertising and publicity
Ethical issues
Demographics (age, gender, race, family size,)
Lifestyle changes
Population shifts
Education
Diversity
Immigration/emigration
Health
Living standards
Housing trends
Fashion & role models
Attitudes to work
Attitudes to people doing certain types of work
Leisure activities
Occupations
Earning capacity
Staff attitudes
Management style
Organizational culture
Changes to education system

Technological -
Competing technology development
Research funding
Associated/dependent technologies
Replacement technology/solutions
Maturity of technology
Manufacturing maturity and capacity
Information and communications
Consumer buying mechanisms/technology
Technology legislation
Innovation potential
Technology access, licensing, patents
Intellectual property issues
Global communications
Inventions
Innovations
New discoveries
Energy uses/sources/fuels
Rate of obsolescence
Collaboration tools
Software changes
Learning

Legal -
Current/future legislation
Local/national/international legislation
Regulatory bodies and processes
Environmental regulations
Employment law
Consumer protection
Industry-specific regulations
competitive regulations

Environmental -
Ecological
Environmental issues
Environmental regulations