This document is a chapter from the Conservation Action Planning Handbook. Step 5: Complete situation analysis. This step helps teams develop a common understanding of the project situation – considering both biological issues and the human context.  This step probes the root causes of critical threats and degraded targets to identify those factors (indirect threats, key actors, and oportunities) that merit special attention. Specific questions that this step answers include: What factors positively & negatively affect our targets?; Who are the key stakeholders linked to each of these factors?