Knowledge Base · Tools & Terms
What are SMART goals, and how do I write them?
SMART is a framework for writing goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It exists because vague intentions like "get better at responding to customers" give a team nothing to aim at, nothing to measure, and no way to know whether they succeeded.
The book's glossary puts it this way: SMART turns vague intentions into a concrete plan of action, and it is worth using every time you set a personal or team goal. Work through the five tests in order. Specific: name exactly what will change, where, and for whom. Measurable: attach a number you can check, with a starting point. Achievable: stretch the team, but stay inside what their resources and authority allow. Relevant: tie the goal to a result the organisation actually cares about. Time-bound: give it a date.
Watch the framework do its work on a weak goal. "Improve response times" fails every test. Rewritten: "Cut the average first response to a customer enquiry from two working days to one working day, for the support inbox, by the end of this quarter." That version can be assigned, measured weekly, and judged honestly at the deadline.
Two cautions. A goal can pass all five tests and still be the wrong goal, so check relevance against the problem you actually need to solve, not just the metric that is easiest to move. And SMART describes the goal, not the method: how the team gets there is improvement work, and it belongs in a plan, a PDCA cycle, or a project, not inside the goal statement itself.
Related questions
- What is a KPI, and how do I choose the right ones?
- How do I stop being reactive and make my calendar strategic?
- Where do I start? A 30-day plan for continuous improvement
Source: the CI glossary in the book's Appendix.