How do I define PESTLE?

PESTEL is a framework for exploring important external factors surrounding a project or product. It is a checklist that helps you remember what to explore in your external business environment to inform your actions, and to maximise your chances of success.

It stands for these common factors that affect products and projects:
Political.
Economic.
Social.
Technological.
Legal.
Environmental.

Use PESTLE to help you remember which factors to explore, whilst planning your project or product.

Follow this simple PESTLE how-to guide here so that you can brainstorm and define PESTEL.

The Pestle Cheat Sheet can be seen here.

It should be used during project and product planning, when plans and strategy are being set. It can be used to identify your RAID items (RAID = risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies) for risk management, and also to inform strategic plans.

Most problems with PESTLE arise when you rely on it alone for your planning. You need to use other tools too! Common issues:-
1. It does not give you the full picture on its own.
2. Life changes, so it needs to be updated.
3. It can be over-simplified.
4. It requires a lot of research to identify all factors.
5. It can be quite time intensive.