When business managers develop notions on which way to steer a business or where to make their future investments, this type of analysis is applied to a) justify a strategic decision and b) to ensure it is as 'future proof' as possible. Whilst strategic analysis will have its proportion of information review, it will often involve more external information gathering through research and meetings. In short, strategic analysis involves analysing internal and external macro level data, in order to aid strategic decision making.