Business analysis glossary
SMART Objectives
What it is
SMART objectives are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Instead of saying "improve service", a SMART objective states what will change, by how much, measured how and by when. Each of the five letters acts as a quick check: is it clear, can it be counted, is it realistic, does it matter to the business and does it have a date?
Why it matters
Measurable goals let a team know whether the project worked. They also stop arguments after delivery about whether the result was good enough. They also give testers and sponsors a shared yardstick, so success is judged by agreed numbers rather than by who feels happiest at the end of the project.
Example
Not SMART: "Make claims faster." SMART: "Reduce the average time to settle simple motor claims at Tidewater Insurance from nine working days to five within six months of go-live, measured from the claims system report." The first version is vague, while the second names a quantity, a starting point, a deadline and the report that will be used to measure it.