Gap Analysis

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Document current (as-is) architecture
• Define target (to-be) architecture
• Identify gaps between current and target states
• Explore technical migration options

Keywords: gap analysis, current state, target state, as-is, to-be, roadmap, migration, baseline, transition

Scope Warning

IMPORTANT: This analysis covers technical migration options based on code structure.

Complete migration planning requires business context including:

• Budgets and timelines (external to code)
• Organizational structure (external to code)
• Technical debt priorities (partially in code)
• Resource availability (external to code)

Use this as input to broader planning discussions, not as a complete migration strategy.

Gap Analysis Workflow

1. Document Current State (As-Is)

What can be extracted from code (Zachman rows 4-6):

Aspect	Source	Analysis
Technology stack	package.json, pom.xml, etc.	Frameworks, libraries, versions
Architecture patterns	Code structure	Monolith, microservices, layers
Data storage	Config files	Databases, caches, queues
Integration points	API definitions	REST, GraphQL, messaging
Infrastructure	IaC files	Cloud resources, networking

What requires human input (Zachman rows 1-3):

Aspect	Source Needed
Business capabilities	Business documentation
Process flows	Stakeholder interviews
Strategic alignment	Strategy documents

2. Define Target State (To-Be)

Target state should include:

• Vision statement: What does success look like?
• Technology targets: Specific technologies, versions
• Architecture targets: Patterns, structures
• Quality attributes: Performance, scalability, security targets
• Constraints: Budget, timeline, compliance requirements

3. Identify Gaps

For each architecture dimension:

Dimension	Current	Target	Gap
Compute	VM-based	Containerized	Container adoption
Data	Monolithic DB	Service-per-DB	Database decomposition
Integration	Point-to-point	Event-driven	Event mesh implementation
...	...	...	...

4. Categorize Gaps

Classify each gap by:

Type:

• Technical debt
• Missing capability
• Scalability limitation
• Security vulnerability
• Compliance gap

Complexity:

• Low: Configuration change
• Medium: Code modification
• High: Architectural change
• Very High: Platform migration

Risk:

• Low: Isolated change
• Medium: Cross-component impact
• High: System-wide impact

5. Explore Options

For each gap, document:

## Gap: [Gap Name]

### Current State
[Description of current situation]

### Target State
[Description of desired situation]

### Technical Options

#### Option A: [Name]
- **Approach**: [Description]
- **Pros**: [List]
- **Cons**: [List]
- **Technical complexity**: [Low/Medium/High]
- **Dependencies**: [List]

#### Option B: [Name]
- **Approach**: [Description]
- **Pros**: [List]
- **Cons**: [List]
- **Technical complexity**: [Low/Medium/High]
- **Dependencies**: [List]

### Recommendation
[Technical recommendation with rationale]

### Business Context Required
[What business input is needed to finalize decision]

Gap Analysis Output Structure

# Gap Analysis: [System Name]

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Scope**: [What's included/excluded]

## Scope Limitations

This analysis covers technical migration options based on code structure analysis.
Complete migration planning requires additional business context:
- Budget constraints and approval processes
- Team capacity and skill availability
- Business timeline requirements
- Risk tolerance and compliance needs

These options should inform broader planning discussions, not replace them.

## Current State Summary
[Overview of as-is architecture]

## Target State Summary
[Overview of to-be architecture]

## Gap Inventory

| ID | Gap | Type | Complexity | Priority |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| G1 | ... | ... | ... | TBD |
| G2 | ... | ... | ... | TBD |

## Detailed Gap Analysis

### G1: [Gap Name]
[Detailed analysis per template above]

## Technical Dependencies
[Dependency graph showing which gaps must be addressed first]

## Recommended Sequencing
[Technical sequencing based on dependencies]

## Business Decisions Required
[List of decisions that require business input]

Integration with Other Skills

• architecture-documentation: Generate current state documentation
• zachman-analysis: Ensure gaps cover all relevant perspectives
• togaf-guidance: Align with TOGAF Phase E (Opportunities & Solutions)
• adr-management: Create ADRs for gap resolution decisions

Repository Location

Gap analysis documents should be stored at:

/architecture/
  gap-analysis.md
  /transitions/
    transition-1.md
    transition-2.md

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-12-05): Initial release
  • Current/target state analysis workflow
  • Gap categorization (type, complexity, risk)
  • Technical options exploration
  • Explicit scope limitations (requires business context)

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Last Updated

Date: 2025-12-05 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101