Guide
Understanding SMART goals in project management
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound: five criteria that turn an intention into an objective.
As a project manager or team leader, it is essential to help colleagues achieve better results and work more efficiently. Motivating and steering a team requires a well-defined set of goals — and goal-setting is where SMART earns its place in project management.
The five criteria
Specific: what exactly will change. Measurable: how you will know. Achievable: within the capacity and skills available. Relevant: connected to the business objective. Time-bound: with a date, not “as soon as possible”.
Where it usually breaks
Most goals fail on “measurable” and “achievable”. If nobody can state the measurement in one sentence, the goal will be argued about at the end; if capacity was never checked, the goal is a wish assigned to an already-full team.
From objectives to projects
SMART objectives only create value when the work is connected to them. FoxPlan’s strategic planning links objectives to the projects that contribute to them, with weighted contributions — so progress on the objective is derived from real project data.
