How to Define S.M.A.R.T. Goals in Project Management

Do you struggle with goal-setting?

Or,  are you only able to set your goals, but don’t know what to do after? 

Do you struggle with achieving them and measure progress? 

Well, the solution to better goal setting exists — using the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria. 

To avoid running around like a headless chicken, we will teach you how to make your project management goals S.M.A.R.T.

In this article, you will learn what S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives are and how they differentiate.

We will guide you through S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting and provide examples of S.M.A.R.T. goals for different professions and types of tasks.

Let’s begin.

What is S.M.A.R.T. in project management?

First, let’s talk about the origin of the term S.M.A.R.T..

The term dates back to 1981 when George T. Doran published a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives” in the November issue of “Management Review.” 

He specified how, ideally, each corporate, department, and section objective or goal should fall under the following criteria:

• Specific — We should target a particular area for improvement.
• Measurable — We should quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
• Assignable — We should specify who will do what we want.
• Realistic — We can achieve the results realistically, given available resources.
• Time-related — We should determine when the results can be achieved.

According to Doran, the acronym doesn’t mean every written objective will meet all five criteria. 

However, the closer it gets to it, the smarter the objectives will be.

Let’s now see how S.M.A.R.T. differs for goals and objectives.

What are S.M.A.R.T. goals in project management?

The words behind the acronym S.M.A.R.T. have slightly changed over time.

Nowadays, S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

• Specific — To make goals specific, make sure they are clear and well-defined.
• Measurable — To make goals measurable, define them so that you can measure them.
• Attainable — To make goals attainable, ensure they can be achieved by the people who are working on them and within the timeframe previously specified.
• Relevant — To make goals relevant, make sure your goals are relevant for completing your project.
• Time-bound — To make goals time-based, don’t forget to determine a target date.

S.M.A.R.T. goals take a little effort to create, but they are worth it. 

Having S.M.A.R.T. goals increases your likelihood of succeeding, as you are more precise about: 

• What do you want to achieve, 
• How will you achieve it, 
• What resources do you need, and
• Other details that are specific to your goal. 

What are S.M.A.R.T. objectives in project management?

We should not use project goals and objectives interchangeably. 

But, how do they differ?

A project goal determines what we need to accomplish, while project objectives picture how we will achieve the goal.

To make it clearer, we prepared a table that displays key differences between S.M.A.R.T. goals and S.M.A.R.T. objectives.

S.M.A.R.T. goals	S.M.A.R.T. objectives
Long-term	Short-term
Primary goal	Smaller actions to meet the goal
A joint effort of the entire team	Split into simpler tasks for smaller groups of people
Based on general business strategy	More tactical and can be slightly altered based on changing circumstances.

How to make your project management goals S.M.A.R.T? 

Let’s learn how to make your goals S.M.A.R.T.

To do so, you should follow these steps:

• Be specific,
• Make goals measurable,
• Make goals attainable,
• Make goals relevant,
• Make goals time-bound,
• Organize S.M.A.R.T. goals in project management software, and
• Use the S.M.A.R.T. goals template.

Step #1: Be specific

A SMART goal should briefly describe what you want to achieve from the project.

But, what does it mean to be specific? 

You should determine:

• What are you trying to accomplish?
• Who will be involved?
• What is the reason for defining this goal?

Simply put, a specific goal targets a particular area for improvement.

First, let’s provide an example of what is not specific.

Declaring that you want to “increase revenue” is a nonspecific goal.

Now, there is nothing wrong with this declaration. 

However, if you don’t want your goal to sound vague, you should provide more details and be precise. 

For example, “I want to increase monthly recurring revenue by 5% in the Q3 of 2022” is much more specific than just “I want to increase revenue”.

In the first example, you were more precise about what you want to accomplish, as you specified the type of revenue you want to increase (i.e. recurring revenue) and the time frame (i.e. Q3 2022).

Step #2: Make goals measurable

To make goals measurable, define them so that you can measure them.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What metrics will I use to determine if I meet the goal?
• How will I know whether the goal is accomplished?

Some examples of metrics may be:

• The number of tasks completed per week, 
• Average hours spent on each task, 
• The number of people working on a specific task, or
• Anything else relevant to your goal.

Making a goal measurable means summarizing what proof will help confirm that you have made progress or have reached your project goal.

For instance, saying that you’re going to “make more money” is not a measurable goal. 

On the other hand, “achieving a 22% increase versus one year ago” is a measurable goal.

Step #3: Make goals attainable

When setting your project goals, make sure they are realistic and achievable.

To begin with, determine whether you have the resources and capacities to achieve the goal.

Getting answers to the following questions may help:

• How important is the goal to you? 
• What can you do to make it attainable?
• How to accomplish the goal, and,
• Do you have the necessary tools and skills?

“Improving the previous year’s performance by 500%” is an unrealistic goal.

In other words — if you don’t have an enormous increase in your budget and enough people to work on this goal, the chances you will achieve a 500% improvement are extremely low.

On the other hand, “Improving the previous year’s performance with a 20% increase through new customers” is attainable — i.e. more likely to happen.

Step #4: Make goals relevant

A goal must be aligned with corporate priorities to be marked as relevant.

Relevance refers to focusing on something that makes sense with the broader company goals.

When deciding on what is relevant to your business, getting the answers to the following questions may help:

• Does the goal make sense with the broader business goals?
• Is it the right time for the goal?

For instance, if you run a B2B company, you must not forget that your clients are businesses, not individuals. Therefore, the solutions you provide must be valuable for companies.

For example, developing and offering a social media platform to companies is not a great idea.

Creating new project management software makes more sense.

Let’s provide another example.

If you want to improve your website ranking, getting backlinks from relevant websites can help.

On the other hand, getting links from websites that are irrelevant to your business won’t work.

So, getting backlinks from websites relevant to our business is a relevant goal, while getting backlinks from any website is an irrelevant goal.

To sum up, to be relevant, a goal must hold specific significance within the project you are currently performing or your business as an entirety.

Step #5: Make goals time-bound

Time-bound goals are achievable in terms of a given time frame. 

To make goals time-bound, you should answer these questions:

• Is the timing realistic?
• Does the goal have a deadline?

Every S.M.A.R.T. goal requires a target date. Therefore, you should specify by when you want to achieve your goal.

For example, “I want to cut the time I spend on social media” is not time-bound.

But, “I want to spend a maximum of 30 minutes a day on social media by the 1st of next month” is time-bound. 

It is precise and, thus, much better than the previously mentioned goal.

Step #6: Organize S.M.A.R.T. goals in project management software

Once you set S.M.A.R.T. goals for your project, you want to ensure that you can organize them and track their progress.

For this purpose, we suggest using project management software. 

Doing so allows you to monitor your progress in one place and stay on top of your workload without the risk of missing something critical. 

Your team can collaborate and have access to project boards regardless of the location they are working, at any time they need.

For example, you can try Plaky project management software, as it is highly customizable and free for an unlimited number of users and projects.

In Plaky, you can have a dedicated board for tracking S.M.A.R.T. goals where you can:

• Define goals,
• Add descriptions for goals,
• Add a S.M.A.R.T. criteria checklist,
• Determine the importance of achieving listed goals,
• Set the deadline for achieving the goals, and
• Track the goals’ statuses.

Moreover, you can discuss every goal with your teammates by using comments and mentions and share your board with all the relevant stakeholders. 

You will then get notified about any change to the items you are subscribed to.

What’s more, in Plaky, you can add an unlimited number of files to your task. 

As you can see — with the help of project management software, setting and tracking S.M.A.R.T. goals become a piece of cake.

Step #7: Use the S.M.A.R.T. goals template

A ready-made template for S.M.A.R.T. goals is another option you have at your disposal.

To save time, we have prepared a free S.M.A.R.T. goal template you can download whenever you need it.

🔽 Download the S.M.A.R.T. goals template

What are examples of S.M.A.R.T. goals in project management?

Now, when you know what S.M.A.R.T. stands for and how to create S.M.A.R.T. goals, let’s provide some examples to make this goal-setting approach even more understandable.

We decided to group S.M.A.R.T. goals in project management into the following categories:

• S.M.A.R.T. HR goals,
• S.M.A.R.T. goals for software development projects,
• S.M.A.R.T. goals for marketing projects,
• S.M.A.R.T. goals for sales projects, and
• S.M.A.R.T. goals for project management.

S.M.A.R.T. HR goals

Let’s apply the S.M.A.R.T. approach to the following HR situations:

• Hiring new people, and
• Improving employee onboarding process.

S.M.A.R.T. HR goal  #1: Hire new people

The goal:

Hire 5 new employees for software development positions in the next 3 months so that they can work on new product development. To do so, set up job ads on the company’s website, relevant job search websites, and LinkedIn. Two HR generalists will work on the selection process. The selection process should end on September 1.

• Specific: You want to hire five new employees for software development positions. 
• Measurable: It is easy to measure, as you specify that you plan to hire 5 new employees in the next 3 months.
• Attainable: Hiring 5 people in 3 months is a realistic goal and can be accomplished, as two HR generalists will work on this task.
• Relevant: This goal is relevant to your company, as you need developers to work on your new product.
• Time-bound: The selection process will end by September 1.

S.M.A.R.T. HR goal #2: Improve employee onboarding process

The goal: 

Improve employee onboarding process and have a 90% employee satisfaction rate by the end of 2022. To do so, we will implement a three-month onboarding process and assign a work buddy to every new employee. Five HR generalists will work on that. To measure the success of the process, we will prepare anonymous surveys that all new employees have to answer when their onboarding ends.

• Specific: Your goal is to improve employee onboarding and have a significantly higher employee satisfaction rate.
• Measurable: You want to get a 90% employee satisfaction rate. Employees will provide their answers when the three-month onboarding process ends.
• Attainable: Five HR generalists will be in charge of the onboarding process.

• Relevant: This goal is relevant to your company, as employee satisfaction matters and improves retention.
• Time-bound: We want to achieve our goal by the end of 2022.

S.M.A.R.T. goals for software development projects

If you run software development projects, you may want to accomplish these two goals:

• Add a feature to an existing application, and
• Fix medium-level bugs. 

Let’s see how to make them S.M.A.R.T.

S.M.A.R.T. software development goal #1: Add a feature to an existing application

The goal: 

Add the video call feature to the business chat app within the next month. A team of five people will work on it, and the feature will be released on August 23 2022.

• Specific: You want to add the video call feature.
• Measurable: You want to release the feature within the next month.
• Attainable: Five developers will work on this task.
• Relevant: A new feature will add value to the existing application.
• Time-bound: The feature will be released on August 23.

S.M.A.R.T. software development goal #2: Fix medium-level bugs 

The goal: 

Fix 4 medium-level bugs on your app this month. A team of three developers will work on this issue. The fix will be implemented on September 1.

• Specific: The goal is to fix medium-level bugs
• Measurable: Your team should fix 4 medium-level bugs.
• Attainable: Three developers will work on this task.
• Relevant: Fixing bugs will improve customer satisfaction.
• Time-bound: The fix will be implemented on September 1.

S.M.A.R.T. goals for marketing projects

Goals for marketing projects may include the following:

• Increase the number of website development projects, and
• Increase brand awareness.

We should adjust them to meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.

S.M.A.R.T. marketing goal #1: Increase the number of website development projects 

The goal: 

Increase the number of website development projects by 15% by December 30 of the current year. To attract more clients, increase the number of Google Ads for your services and optimize the company’s website for search engines. Paid marketing and SEO teams will work on this goal.

• Specific: You have a clearly defined number of websites you want to develop per quarter.
• Measurable: Your plan is to increase the number of website development projects by 15%.
• Attainable: Your Paid marketing and SEO teams will help achieve the goal.
• Relevant: Your company specializes in website development. Therefore, this goal is relevant to their overall company goals.
• Time-bound: You expect to increase the number of projects by 15% by December 30.

S.M.A.R.T. marketing goal #2: Increase brand awareness 

The goal: 

Increase brand awareness by 25% by December 20. To do so, share at least 2 posts per day per social media account and launch a paid Google Ads campaign. Moreover, a company should participate in two business-related conferences. A social media, PR, SEO, and paid ads teams will be responsible for this initiative. The metrics can be website traffic growth, the increase in social media post reach, and the number of mentions on social media and in the news outlets.

• Specific: You have a clear goal — to increase brand awareness by 25%.
• Measurable: It can be measured by monitoring the reach of social media posts, mentions on social media and the news outlets, and the growth in website traffic.
• Attainable: Your social media, PR, SEO, and paid ads teams will help achieve the goal.
• Relevant: Brand awareness campaigns can help establish your company as a leader in its industry.
• Time-bound: You want to reach your goal by December 20.

S.M.A.R.T. goals for sales projects

If you want to elevate your sales, your goals may look like this:

• Get more premium plan users, and
• Increase sales email response rate.

However, they are not S.M.A.R.T. yet. Let’s be more specific.

S.M.A.R.T. sales goal #1: Get more premium plan users

The goal: 

Get new paid plan users by converting 25% of free trial users to a paid plan in the next six months. To do so, the sales team will reach out to people using our free trial and book a demo presentation.

• Specific: You want to get new paid users by converting 25% of free trial users to a paid plan in the next six months.
• Measurable: Your plan is to convert 25% of free trial users to a paid plan.
• Attainable: The sales team will contact free plan users.
• Relevant: Paid plan generates income for the company.
• Time-bound: You want to get more paid users in the next six months.

S.M.A.R.T. sales goal #2: Increase sales email response rate

The goal: 

Increase sales representatives’ email response rate by 10% in the next 2 months. To achieve that, pair top and bottom performers for one-on-one mentoring and best practice sharing and booking sales training for your sales reps. 

• Specific: Your goal is to increase sales representatives’ email response rate.
• Measurable: You want it to increase by 10%.
• Attainable: Your top performers will share their best practice with the bottom performers, and your employees will attend sales training.
• Relevant: The higher the response rate, the better chances are that sales will increase.
• Time-bound: You want to accomplish this goal in the next 2 months.

S.M.A.R.T. goals for project managers in general

Being a project manager can be quite challenging. Here are some goals they may set:

• Change the priority of the current tasks without changing the project deadline, and
• Improve project team communication.

But how do we accomplish these goals? 

The S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting criteria can help in project management.

S.M.A.R.T. project manager goal #1: Change the priority of the current tasks without changing the project deadline

The goal: 

Change the current front-end tasks priority by assigning new due dates to all 3 critical tasks over the next 5 days without changing the project deadline, to demonstrate a demo website version to the client on September 15.

• Specific: You need to change the current front-end tasks priority.
• Measurable: You will do it by assigning new due dates to all 5 critical tasks.
• Attainable: It will be done over the next five days.
• Relevant: You need to implement changes in order to demonstrate a successful demo on time.
• Time-bound: You will demonstrate a demo website version to the client on September 15.

S.M.A.R.T. project manager goal #2: Improve project team communication

The goal: 

Improve team communication by 25% by the end of September, conducting daily stand-up meetings for 15 minutes starting the following Monday. All project team members can prepare beforehand, discuss their work, and ask questions. This will reduce the number of direct messages team members exchange on a daily basis. To measure success, the HR team will send questionnaires to all employees at the end of the year, on December 21.

• Specific: You aim to improve team communication by conducting daily stand-up meetings.
• Measurable: You plan to accomplish it by having 15 minutes daily stand-up meetings with your team starting next Monday.
• Attainable: It does not take much time, only 15 minutes a day, and does not require additional resources.
• Relevant: It will help everyone know what other team members are doing and reduce the need for direct messaging throughout the day.
• Time-bound: You want to accomplish this goal by the end of September.

Wrapping up: Use the S.M.A.R.T. criteria to improve your PM goal-setting

Having goals helps us set the direction for our actions and define what we want to achieve.

Moreover, it enables us to track and judge progress, as we have clear points of reference.

The S.M.A.R.T. approach has changed how people set and measure goals for the better. The goals become easier to meet as they are more precise. 

S.M.A.R.T. goals are relevant to our organization as they determine what we want to accomplish, how we will do it, and how long it will take. 

In a nutshell, they guide our actions. 

We can use the S.M.A.R.T. criteria to set both professional and personal goals. 

After writing your goals, use project management software and the free S.M.A.R.T. goals template included in this article to organize them.