Defining a project's mission, goals, and objectives.
Goals and objectives define the specific outcomes a project is trying to achieve. A project mission defines the overarching purpose for the project. The mission answers the question: Why are we doing this?
As we'll discuss shortly, goals and objectives should be completely measurable and objective. A mission statement however is typically more general. For example:
Our project mission is to delight customers with an automated customer support solution that is scalable and cost-effective to implement and maintain.
The mission should serve as a “North Star” for goals and provide the general purpose for the project. Goals and objectives however should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Here is an example of a SMART goal.
By the end of this calendar year, increase customer satisfaction scores by 15% and reduce support center costs by 20% with an improved AI-driven customer support system.
Note that the achievement of this goal isn't a matter of opinion. If customer satisfaction scores have increased by 15% and costs have decreased by 20% by the end of the calendar year as a result of an AI-driven system - the goal has been accomplished. There is nothing opinionated about it.
Again, if a project plan does nothing else, it needs to clarify expectations. The best way to do this is with clear project goals and objectives. By goals and objectives we mean:
- Goals: Things you want to accomplish that are not fully under your control
- Objectives: Things you want to accomplish that are 100% under your control
You can think of goals as the desired project outcomes. These are often business performance related. The key difference between a goal and an objective is that we don't have full control over the achievement of goals. Other factors, like competition, or market conditions for example, could impact the final outcome.
Objectives are accomplishments that will likely increase the odds of achieving project goals. Unlike goals, we should have 100% control over the completion of objectives.
The key to defining both goals and objectives is to write them in a way that ensures their outcome is not subjective. Consider the following example goals.
Goal (take 1): Improve customer satisfaction with an AI system that accurately answers customers questions when human agents aren't available.
While this goal might seem clear, the outcome can't be determined. So at best, the achievement of this goal would be a matter of opinion. Without defining how customer satisfaction is measured, or what the current level of customer satisfaction is, there is no way to know if satisfaction has improved. It's also not time-bound. So, it's not clear when the goal should be achieved. Let's take a look at another example.
Goal (take 2): By July 1st of next year, implement an AI system that can accurately answer customer questions when human agents are not available.
This goal is much better than the previous example. If the system answers questions accurately when human agents are not available, the goal has been achieved. But wait, what questions will it have to answer accurately? All questions? Is that realistic? Also, does the term “implement” mean the system should be in full production or just working at some level? Let's try again, this goal isn't as clear as it could be.
Goal (take 3): By July 1st of next year, be in production with an AI system that can accurately answer our top 100 most frequently asked customer questions when human agents are not available.
The final version of the goal is pretty well written. You'd still want to clarify in your plan exactly how you'll go about testing to ensure that the 100 questions are being accurately answered. But that level of detail is not necessary when defining goals and objectives as long as it's clearly defined in the plan.
Opinions Matter
You might be wondering about cases when the outcome of a goal can't be objectively determined. Are there ever cases when the outcome of a goal or objectives can be a matter of opinion? Yes there is. But you should make it clear whose opinions matter. Here's an example.
Objective (take 1): The app should include a super simple registration and onboarding process.
Defining “super simple” is the challenge. But we still need a way to determine if and when this objective can be considered complete. The best way to do this is to define who will ultimately be responsible for deciding when it's done. So after we know who will be responsible for signing off on the completion of this objective we'd rewrite it in the following way.
Objective (take 2): The registration and onboarding process should pass a final review from Jane Smith before going to production.
In this case, the objective has been completed when Jane Says says it has. But, the outcome is no longer subjective. When Jane says the onboarding process is ready to go, the objective has been accomplished. Other opinions don't matter - at least for the purpose of calling the objective complete. The key is choosing just one person that all stakeholders agree will make the final decision. That person might need to consult with others to make the final call. But only one person should have that final say.
The number of goals and objectives a project has depends on the size and scope of the project. But generally speaking, try to define higher-level goals and objectives that eliminate the need to be overly granular. The granular details should be defined by the project requirements. I'll discuss that in a future post.