SMART goals: A project management tool

by Ali Jamal Jomeh

Abstract

Setting goals is critical for every organisation because goals determine the broad vision and direction for any organisation, making them deeply inherent in project, program and portfolio management.

Setting goals and objectives is an important part of every organization, as they serve as a guide in terms of what they want to achieve, making them deeply inherent in project, program and portfolio management. Goals and objectives contribute to the successful development of a project’s different phases as well as the guidance of the project team’s operations towards achieving all the agreed upon goals within the scope, time, quality and budget standards. Evidently, an appropriate goal setting technique can help to successfully accomplish the above, which is where SMART goals enter the picture. The purpose of this article is to fully elaborate the idea behind the SMART goals, how to apply the technique and explore the limitations of it.

SMART is an effective goal setting technique in which the acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. The difference between normal and SMART goals is that normal goals are simply what you aim to achieve, while SMART goals include finer details in the equation such as resources, deadlines and potential roadblocks along the way. These goals are to be formulated in regard to these five principles, where the idea is that every project goal must adhere to the SMART criteria in order to be effective. Therefore, a key element in the success of a project relies on setting SMART goals, as it is designed to provide structure and guidance throughout a project and can help answer how the project can contribute to the purpose based on relevant success criteria. Thus, the technique enables managers to clearly define and understand the purpose and goals of a project, program, or portfolio. While SMART is rarely mentioned in the British or PMI standards, it is briefly introduced as part of a quality criteria in line with the PRINCE2 method. While this technique is applicable in almost any professional context, it is typically applied in project management in the planning phase of a project, as the project scope is defined here in accordance with the international standard ISO 21500. Based on above, this article will mostly examine the method from a project management perspective.

Why SMART goals is relevant to project managers

First, it is necessary to establish how the terms 'goals' and 'objectives' will be used in this article, as there are different views on how they should be defined. Goals are by some considered as a high level statement in the long-term and objectives as a low level statement in the short-term, while others find the opposite true. For some, these terms are synonyms. According to George Doran, the founder of the term SMART, it is of little significance to differentiate between the two terms from a practical point of view, as the principles in the SMART method apply to both. Since the point of this article is to elaborate the SMART method and not to investigate the definition of goals and objectives, these terms will be treated as synonyms and will be used interchangeably throughout the article.

Background on goal-setting theories

In the late 1960’s, Edwin Locke put forward the goal-setting theory of motivation. This theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance, and that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better performance. Furthermore, Locke’s research has shown that the more difficult and specific the goal is, the harder people tend to work. In one study, Locke found that, for 90 percent of the time, specific and challenging goals led to higher performance than easy or "do your best" goals. For instance, advising someone to "do your best" is less viable than saying "attempt to get more than 80% correct". Hard goals are more persuading than easy ones, since there is a greater sense of accomplishment involved when there has been put in a bigger effort.

A few years after Locke’s published article, Gary Latham studied the effects of goal setting in the workplace. His results supported Locke’s findings – that there is an inseparable link between goal setting and workplace performance. According to Locke and Latham, there are five goal setting principles that can improve our chances of success: Clarity, Challenge, Commitment, Feedback and Task complexity. Since Locke's first findings, numerous techniques based on goal setting theory have been published including SMART goals which will be covered in the next section.

SMART goals

Due to the importance of an effective goal setting technique in organisational performance management, the main principles of SMART goals were introduced for the first time in 1981 by George Doran and are in many ways similar to the principles established by Locke and Latham. Since its first introduction, there have been made a couple of adjustments to the acronym SMART. Today, the current state-of-art is generally accepted as:

• Specific - target a specific area for improvement
• Measurable - quantify or suggest an indicator of progress
• Attainable - state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources
• Relevant - determine if the goal is in alignment with your values and long-term objectives
• Time-bound - specify when the result(s) can be achieved

Why and when is it relevant to use this tool?

Setting goals and objectives is critical for every organisation because goals determine the broad vision and direction for any organisation. The best goals will align with the organisation mission, vision and culture and describe the organisation's longer term aspirations before laying out specific actions. SMART goals reduces ambiguity and increases commitment in a managerial environment and can be applied in project, program and portfolio management or in an entire company - regardless of the size of the organisation. In the field of project management, SMART goals generate a sense of direction, structure and focus in the planning phase. If managers have nebulous, equivocal goals, the project will not end up as envisioned. Furthermore, a higher rate of accomplishment compared to a vague goal setting is ensured, hence, a roadmap to success can be developed. It can be used to measure and to track project phases and results and can be implemented in conjunction with many methodologies such as Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart or Balanced Scorecard. To summarize, its easy applicability and level of awareness combined with the positive resonance among users are some of the main reasons for the tool's success.

In ISO 21500, it is stated: “The purpose of Define scope is to achieve clarity of the project scope, including objectives, deliverables, requirements and boundaries, by defining the end state of the project. The definition of project scope makes clear what the project will contribute to the strategic goals of the organization”. As the definition of the scope is initiated in the planning phase of a project, SMART goals will typically be applied at this stage from a project management perspective.

In programme and portfolio management, the scope tends to be more fluid than that of a project, as it is unlikely that solutions for all the projects within the programme/portfolio can be identified at the outset, and the business environment may change. Normally, a portfolio is distinguished between a standard and structured portfolio. A standard portfolio is an accumulation of projects and programmes with unconnected objectives. Its scope is flexible and is simply the sum of the projects and programmes it contains. In this case, it does not make sense to use SMART goals as the scope is derived from a bottom-up approach. A structured portfolio is, however, defined by the strategic objectives of its host organisation that it is designed to satisfy. Its scope is the sum of the projects, programmes and change activity required to deliver those strategic objectives. In this context, the use of SMART goals is more apparent as defining the strategic objectives in the portfolio scope forms the basis for the initiated programmes and projects. While SMART goals can be used in programme and portfolio management to some extent, there are some drawbacks that will be covered in the section 'Limitations'.

Connection to standards

Even though SMART is well-known and commonly used, it is rarely mentioned in the British or PMI standards that provide guidelines for achieving specific project, program and portfolio management results. However, in the standard "....", SMART is used as part of a quality criteria for a project brief in line with the PRINCE2 method.

Framework for SMART goals

... Explain benefits, relate to key references, Framework for SMART Goals In the following subsections, each criteria in the SMART model will be elaborated further.

Specific

The first criteria is that the goal should target a specific area of improvement or answer a specific need. Because it is the first step in the process, it is pivotal to be as clear as possible so that everyone who reads it interprets it the same way. This can be accomplished by, for example, using the 5 W's:

• What do I want to accomplish?
• Who is involved?
• Which resources are involved?
• Where is it located?
• Why is it important?

Measurable

The goal must be quantifiable, or at least allow for measurable progress. By the definition of the word itself, this step should help answer questions such as:

• How will I know when it is accomplished?
• How much?
• How many?

When checking for this step, assessable terms should be used such as costs, deadlines, frequency, quality, quantity and so forth.

Attainable

The goal should be realistic based on available resources and existing constraints. Typical project constraints include team bandwidth, budgets and timelines. Project managers should look to data from similar projects done in the past for insight on what is actually achievable. Based on this, it is imperative to ask questions such as:

• Can this goal be achieved and in which way(s)?
• How realistic is the goal based on the known constraints?
• Is the team equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the expectations?

Relevant

SMART goals for project managers should be relevant to the company mission and reflect one or more core values. In order to make sure the project delivers the required results, it is important to track that each goal stays consistent with the objectives of the company on the whole. The below questions can help answer this:

• Is this goal aligned with the company's values and long-term aspirations?
• Does this goal match the other needs?
• Does this goal seem worthwhile?
• Is this the right time to set it?
• Is it applicable in the current environment?

Time-bound

The last thing to consider in establishing SMART goals for project managers is for the goal to be time-bound. Time-bound goals involve a realistic time frame to be achieved. In order to avoid a never-ending marathon in a project, each stage must have a definite deadline. By keeping tasks and goals time-bound, the team will feel a sense of urgency to work and deliver results in the desired time period.

• When is it relevant?
• What can I do X months from now?
• What can I do X weeks from now?
• What can I do right now?

Application of SMART goals

After the project scope has been defined, SMART goals are implemented. Thus, implementing it in the planning phase is the obvious choice. Because of its great scope of application possibilities, SMART goals can be utilised throughout the project management process. However, the main aspects of application in project management are planning, performance management and monitoring.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-bound