FAST Goals

Unfinished work of s164345 FMC

Abstract

Creating a plan is pivotal for the success of any project and the management of said project. Key to any plan is goals: Objectives, milestones or deliverables. Whatever shape the goal takes, without goals a plan is imperfect. Correct utilization of goals is therefore critical for project and project management success. Setting the wrong goals will waste valuable resources, setting the goals too low will result in lower quality outcomes and failure to communicate the goals adequately will leave those within the project without direction. Ensuring high quality of the goals within the project is therefore a skill that project managers must master in order to save time and resources. FAST goals is a framework created to help those setting and managing goals by ensuring the quality of their goals through the acronym 'FAST': Frequently talked about, Ambitious, Specific and Transparent.

Fast goals as a tool within project management is not a guarantee for success on it's own, but incorporating the four pillars of FAST into the many aspects of project management can heigthen the chance of project and project management success. Having high quality goals by itself does help solidify the purpose of a project, but in conjuction with other project management tools the real value of FAST becomes apparent. Tools such as Gannt charts and Work Breakdown Structure synergizes with FAST goals as drivers to reach the goals in a more effective and efficient manner. This article will further explain the meaning and qualities of each of the four letters in FAST, compare it to the similar methodology of SMART goals, as well as exploring the limitations of the FAST goals within project management. The aim of this article is to provide information on the strengths and limitations of the FAST goals, how and when to apply them so that project managers can extract the most value of the methodology.

Big idea

In the PMBOK guide the purpose of a project is defined as such "Projects are undertaken to fulfill objectives by producing deliverables." Intrinsically linked to the purpose of the project, the reasoning for why it has been undertaken, is the intended outcome of the project. The objective, or goal. A project is not a project without something which it tries to achieve. The overarching goal of the project is one of many smaller goals which combines to be the project plan, depending on the complexity of the project these goals can be divided further over and over again until the goals reach a manageable size. Goals permeate the very nature of projects with entire management styles revolving around the creation and execution of goals . The importance of goals within project management is therefore critical. Not only are goals abundant in project management, correct utilization of goals can bring benefits such as higher motivation , higher performance and work satisfaction etc. Poor goals negatively influence the planning, poor planning then is associated less chance of success of reaching goals ., waste of resource, reduction in quality and frustration .

It should therefore come natural to all project managers to strive for setting goals of high quality. However what is a goal of high quality? The PRINCE2 project management guide suggests that project objectives should adhere to the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals framework (ref PRINCE2). The SMART goals framework date back to 1981 (ref management review), and depending on the source each letter of the acronym can take a new meaning. Some even suggest an updated version of the acronym to SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Effecacy, Rewarding) (ref professor rubin will the real smart goals please stand up), again the newly included latter two letters take on new meaning dependent on the source.

Another goal related methodology is the OKR, Objective – Key Result methodology (ref measure what matter). In the book Measure What Matters John Doerr defines the OKR methodology as “A management methodology that helps to ensure that the company focuses efforts on the same important issues throughout the organization”(ref measure what matter). The OKR methodology revolves around creating one objective and three to five key results which will help attain the goal. The book Measure What Matters goes into far greater detail about the methodology, and I suggest reading that or similar literature if the reader wishes for greater knowledge on the OKR methodology.

The final relevant methodology which will be highlighted is the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) framework. Which in its simplicity is a methodology revolving around the creation of a specific set of performance indicators. These performance indicators can vary greatly from quality and flexibility to safety, which ultimately aims to provide quantifiable metrics for a given company to measure themselves on (ref The key performance indicators (KPIs) and their impact on overall organizational performance). The measuring of these indicators have shown to have a positive impact on those who use them (ref the key performance indicators.. ), and can in some ways be seen as goals to pursue the best performance within.

Of the above mentioned methodologies, the SMART framework attempts to provide a blueprint of how to set up individual goals themselves. The OKR methodology applies a different yet specific mindset to goal setting while the KPI methodology works with more or less predetermined goals quantified by more specific individual measures. If those methodologies does not answer the question of what is a quality goal for you, perhaps the right tool for you is the FAST goals.

FAST goals

The FAST goals are in their nature extremely similar to the SMART goals methodology. Both are acronym words representing a set of core values to keep in mind when creating goals. This is to be expected as the FAST goals is designed to be a successor to the SMART goals, building on the learnings of the shortcommings of SMART goals and creating a better methodology (ref fast not smart). The first article pioneering the FAST goals was released in 2018, describing the research of high performing companies and their goal setting methodologies and distilling the findings into FAST goals framework (ref fast not smart). The core critisism which the creators of the FAST goals aim at the SMART goals is that SMART goals focuses too much on performance of the individal, underutilize ambition and fails to take into account the benefits of transparency and discussion around goals (ref fast not smart). To understand how the creators of FAST goals have attempted to refine the SMART goals through bettering these critisism the following sections will go through the four letters of the acronym FAST and ellaborate on how quality goals can be derived from this framework.

Frequently talked about

The first letter of the acronym F is perhaps the one which differentiates itself the most from the SMART goals. Frequently talked about is quite wordy and can be hard to remember or even understand at first glance. The definition of Frequently talked about by D. Sull and C. Sull from the work With Goals, FAST Beats Smart (ref) is:

"Goals should be embedded in ongoing discussions to review progress, allocate resources, prioritize initiatives, and provide feedback. "

The base logic here is quite simple, no matter how great goals we set out for ourselves if we never review them, discuss them and challenge them value can be lost. For those familiar with the Agile Manifesto this might sound recognizable. The final part of the Agile Manifesto goes as follows “Responding to change over following a plan” (Ref agile manifesto website). Frequently talked about takes goals and puts an emphasis on being agile in the face of change.

This is also the reason why Frequently talked about can be hard to wrap your head around, because it does not follow the same blueprint like methodology of the SMART goals. That goals should be frequently talked about is not something to keep in mind when the goal is created, it is instead a change in the very way that goals are perceived and worked with. An example of what this change in thinking can lead to is exemplified in what the PRINCE2 guide refers to as leveling(ref prince2), or in other words, the reassignment of resources. Frequently talking about the goals allows managers to spot when a specific goal has been assigned too many or too few resources. Furthermore it ensures that prioritization remains on the key goals for the project. In the PRINCE2 guide the MoSCoW prioritization technique is suggested to ensure that the criteria of the project is prioritized in descending order from must have to won’t have. However what if those priorities change? Frequently talking about goals enable priorities to be shifted before resources are wasted going in the wrong direction. This adaptiveness to change is also mentioned in an article by McKinsey as a way to motivate employees (ref link mckinsey). Other benefits of Frequently talking about goals mentioned in (ref fast not smart) include providing guidance for key decisions and linking performance feedback to concrete goals.

Ambitious

The second letter of FAST, defined in (FAST NOT SMART) as "Objectives should be difficult but not impossible to achieve". Ambitious revolves around both the psychology behind motivation and increasing performance. Several studies link ambitious goal setting to employee motivation (Uwe Work motivation, goal setting theory of motivation, FAST beats SMART), the PMBOK guide even puts one of the project managers responsibilities in terms of managing teams to be providing challenging goals . In regards to increasing performance a simple way to look at it is, if your goals only strive for okay then excellence will never be achieved. This is further exemplified in the book Measure What Matters where John Doerr establishes the importance of setting ambitious goals in order to perform higher (ref measure what matter p.184). The same study which linked ambitious goals to motivation also links ambitious goals to high performance.(Ref Work motivation) With ambitious goals comes the risk of not meeting goals, like with Frequentlly talked about this too is a change in thinking for some. In order to aim high and create ambitious goals, it must be accepted not to reach them. It comes at the risk of setting the goals too high, which the definition of Ambitious in fast warns against. With what has been presented it might seem fitting to create goals which are ambitious to the point of impossebility, however the reverse effect of ambitious goals, lack of motivation and low performance, has been linked to impossible goals (ref goal setting theory of motivation, FAST NOT SMART). The challenge for project managers then becomes to create goals which are ambitious enough, yet not as much as to be impossible. There are exceptions to this as in some projects there are goals which much be reached, but for the rest the benefits of setting ambitious goals are plenty as shown.

Specific

The third letter of FAST, Specific, is defined by (ref FAST not SMART) as: “Goals are translated into concrete metrics and milestones that force clarity on how to achieve each goal and measure progress.”. Those familiar with SMART goals will notice that this is similar if not identical to their understanding of the S in SMART, and to some extent the M. Throughout the years since SMART goals first appeared the importance of goals being specific seems to remain unchanged. Both the PMBOK guide and PRINCE2 references the need for specificity in planning and in general throughout project management " (ref pmbok prince2). Specific goals are linked to increased motivation and performance (goal setting theory of motivation, FAST not SMART), and other methodologies different from FAST and SMART include the need for specificity and measurability as requirement for goal setting (ref. measure what matter p.46, no more muddling through p.83). FAST goals therefore encourages you to continue to set specific goals, or begin if you have yet to.

Transparent

The final letter of FAST, Transparent, is defined by (ref FAST not SMART) as: Goals and current performance should be made public for all employees to see. Much like the first letter of the acronym, this too might be a bit hard to understand at first. Similarly it also diverges from the blueprint like nature of SMART goals in favor of suggesting an alternative approach to goals as a whole within projects. Creating transparent goals is not about understanding the goal or the meaning behind it, it is instead how it is treated which has to be transparent. Doing transparency right however is indicated to have a wealth of benefits such as better strategic alignment, improved motivation and becoming more attractive to high performing workers. (ref Organizational transparency drives company performance, ref transparency) These are some of the same benefits highlighted in (FAST not SMART) as the reasoning for the inclusion of transparent as a part of the FAST goals.

Comparison to SMART goals

Despite their apparent similarities if judging purely from the name of the two methodologies, FAST goals seperates themselves rather drastically from SMART goals in ways which has been ellaborated upon earlier. While the SMART goals serves as a checklist of things to keep in mind when creating goals, FAST goals focuses more on creating a better goal-setting environment. In fact two of the four letters of FAST has little to do with the action of goal-setting, but instead revolve around creating an environment where the set goals can perform better. Of the remaining two, the S in FAST and in SMART is exactly the same, while the A in FAST stands to contrast the A in SMART. FAST argues for ambition, SMART emphasizes attainability. As was discussed in the section about ambition, attainability is still key to extracting the benefits of ambition, too much of either leads to worse results.

It therefore might make more sense to think of FAST goals as less of a direct replacement to SMART goals in terms of immediate goal setting, and more of an additional consideration. Outside of the action of goal setting the FAST goals carry other meanings, however these are poorly suited to compare against the SMART goals which are purely focused on the action of goal setting. Thinking of FAST goals and SMART goals as two rival methodologies would thusly be wrong, instead the two argue for mostly the same values in terms of goal setting, while their differences emphasize the balance between ambition and attainability.

Application

As a rather new methodology, appearing first in 2018, very little evidence is publically available to chronicle the application of the FAST goals. Furthermore the work proposing the FAST goals does not go into detail on the specifics of application. The following segment is therefore an attempt to convert the sentiments of the FAST goals into something concrete and applicable. In this article the application of the FAST goals will be split into two segments, goal setting application and (strategic? Structural?)organizational application. The goal setting application segment will focus on how to apply the FAST goals in terms the action of goal setting, while the organizational application will focus on the necessary structures surrounding the goals in order for them to be FAST.

Goal setting application

Write about the goal setting application = S and A, find inspiration in the SMART goals and in litterature about ambition.

Organization application

Write about the organizational application = F, T and A. The structure which has to surround the goals in order for them to be transparent, frequently talked about and ambitious.

Limitations

This section will discuss the limitations of the FAST goals and in conjuction with information from the prior section outline what type of project stands to benefit the most from utilization of the FAST goals.

Annotated bibliography

A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) - A comprehensive overview, which covers best practices for correct management of most projects. The PMBOK guide goes through the many steps of managing a project in order to present an outline of correct project management practices. Relevant to the FAST goals the PMBOK guide explains a plethora of project management activities such as the creation of Project Scope Management, Project Schedule management etc. These activities show the necessity of proper goal creation in order for project and project management success to be achieved, as goal creation is featured prominently in this work of best practices.

No More Muddling Through - Mastering Complex Projects in Engineering and Management - A book written with the intention of being applicable by novice practitioners of Systems Engineering by introducing step-by-step methodology and solution methods used within the field. This book introduces the Problem-Solving Cycle, which is an iterative process of problem solving. The Problem-Solving Cycle focuses extensively on the importance of goals with Search for goals being one of three major steps and Goal definition being one of six minor goals to go from problem to solution. The importance of goals in this problem solving methodology shows the value, which can be derived from creating high quality goals.

With Goals, FAST Beats SMART - The article introducing FAST goals. This is the maiden work related to the FAST goals, introducing the reasoning behind the creation of the methodology, the research which led to the FAST goals as well as the meaning behind each of the four letters of the acronym in great detail. Additionally this article presents the FAST goals as a superior to the SMART goals, seeing it as an evolution of the concept of SMART goals more fit for modern day project management. This article includes many real life examples of aspects of the FAST goals in practice in high performing companies.

References

Project Management Institute, 2017, A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide), Sixth edition, Project Management Institute, Inc.

Züst, R & Troxler, P, 2006, No More Muddling Through - Mastering Complex Projects in Engineering and Management, Springer.

Sull, D & Sull, C, 2018, With Goals, FAST Beats SMART, MIT Sloan Management Review, viewed 14 February 2021, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/with-goals-fast-beats-smart/.