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How to Create SMART Goals
by Peter Landau  |  Aug 23, 2018

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SMART is an mnemonic acronym that establishes criteria for ideal goals

and objectives in a project. Goals and objectives should always be
“SMART,” which stands for Speci c, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant
and Time-Related. This set of criteria helps managers both recognize
their goals and create a structural guide to achieve them.

SMART rst appeared in a 1981 issue of the magazine Management

Review, in a paper by Gorge T. Doran titled, “There’s a SMART Way to Write
Management’s Goals and Objectives.” The paper discussed objectives and
how di cult, yet critical, it is to set them. He created SMART to help guide
managers in their objective setting process.

Within that simple set of criteria is a guide to help teams be more

productive, while always keeping goals in mind. Without goals there is no
focus, and without focus the chance of successfully completing a project
is slim. 

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What Does SMART Mean?

The acronym is easy to remember. As mentioned, SMART stands for
speci c, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related. But what does
that really mean?

Speci c
Begin by de ning what it is that you’re trying to achieve. Be speci c. Ask
the Five W’s: who, what, why, where and which. For example:

 Who is going to be involved in achieving this goal?

 What project management tools will they need to accomplish it?
 Why is the goal important?
 Where will the work be located?
 Which resources are going to be needed to do it?

Basically, the more you can focus in on the speci cs, the more achievable
the goal.

Measurable
In order for a goal to be SMART, it must be measurable, and in order to
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track your progress towards your goal, you have to know how to measure
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it. That keeps you on track and motivates you to nish on time. So, in
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order to be successful, you need to regularly monitor and assess your
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progress.
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Also, you have to know how to tell when you’ve reached that goal, so as
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not to waste time once it’s already been achieved. Basically, you must set
Support up metrics to measure your progress. Project milestones can help break
up a timeline if a project extends over some months.
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Achievable
There’s no point having and measuring a goal that’s impossible to achieve.
Therefore, another criterion for a SMART goal is discerning if the goal
you’ve de ned is realistic. You want to reach beyond what you think is
possible (because nothing is achieved by playing it safe), but not so far
that the project comes crashing down on top of you.

You must know your resources well, and ask if this goal can be
accomplished considering the constraints under which you’re working,
which include scheduling and costs.

Relevant
The goal is now de ned, measurable and achievable, but is it relevant? A
SMART goal has to be relevant, and that doesn’t mean just to you but to
the organization writ large.

That means your goal, even after meeting all the prior criteria, must now
align with other relevant goals because success requires the support and
assistance from everyone on the project team. Therefore, it must work in
congress with other parts of the project and the overall strategy of the
organization.

This creates a whole new set of questions such as, is the goal
worthwhile? Maybe the time isn’t right. Does it match other needs? Maybe
you’re not the right person to lead this initiative, or maybe it’s not aligned
with current economics or social trends. If it offers the right answers to
these questions, then it’s relevant.

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Home Time-Related
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A SMART goal will always be time-related because goals often cannot be
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achieved without a deadline. A deadline serves as a great motivator and
Resourcescan provide context for you to recognize the various tasks necessary to
reach that goal in the time allotted. Therefore, giving the goal time
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constraints helps keep you on track.
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Naturally, you must answer questions, such as: when must the goal be
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achieved? Then get more speci c, is that in six months, six weeks, six
days? Without a time frame you can’t devise a plan, and the goal will never
be realized.

Creating SMART Goals

Now that SMART is clearly de ned, how do you create SMART goals? Well,
it should be obvious now that the process starts with asking a lot of
questions. Pose questions to yourself, your team and even stakeholders.
The answers to these questions will whittle down your options and
sharpen your strategy. From there, goals will become clear and attainable.

Be Positive and Optimistic

While being realistic is part of the process,  it’s important not to let a
cynical attitude curb your efforts. Be positive. What do you want to
achieve? Think big; you can always pull back if necessary. On the contrary,
it’s di cult to expand on a conservative idea.

The great thing about using SMART as a method to de ne your project

goals is that it’s not a tedious exercise. It can be fun, and it is always going
to leave you with greater insights into your goals.

SMART Can Apply to Any Goal

Whatever the goal, run it through SMART to discover if it’s worth the time
and effort. First, be speci c: what is the project and what product, service
or problem is it addressing?

Then, how can you measure the progress of that project? What is it you
want to achieve and by what date? Then working backwards, you can set
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Home up a task list and a metric to see if you’re following that schedule.
Basically, you’re building a project dashboard to measure the various
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aspects of the project against a baseline you have created in the planning
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stage.
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In terms of whether or not it can be achieved, make sure that the
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organization is on board with the project. The project will have to align
Support with the company’s overall strategy. But is it also relevant? Will the project
in fact solve a problem or produce a useful product or service?
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Finally, what’s the time constraint? How long do you have to complete the
project and still be able to take advantage of the opportunity that the
project was created to exploit?

All this information will combine to help you de ne and reach SMART
goals. But the SMART criteria is not chiseled in stone. It can be exible
and is open to revision as needed. So, monitor and evaluate key metrics as
your project progresses to make sure that the goal you set is in fact smart!

To successfully use SMART as a method to determine the feasibility of your

goals, you’ll need a project management software that can help at every
stage of your project. ProjectManager.com is a cloud-based tool that has
planning, scheduling and reporting features that help managers create and
complete SMART goals. See for yourself with this free 30-day trial.

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