Gap Analysis
Gap analysis is a formal study of what a business is doing currently and where it wants to go in the future. It can be conducted in different perspectives, looking at the organization at large, or at companies and products in specific. Gap analysis measures the gap between companies or products to determine whether a company or product is exceeding, meeting, or failing to meet expectations on a variety of attributes.

So how does it work?
Ultimately, gap analysis seeks to form a comparison between two different phases of a product or company’s development. If for example one wants to know if after a certain change or adjustment the company/product is perceived better, worse, or the same as before, gap analysis can provide more clarity as it investigates the difference in attributes or attitudes before and after the change or adjustment.
Example:

For an example of a case study utilizing Gap Analysis, go to http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411596_504_gap_analysis.pdf