SMART / SMARTER is a mnemonic abbreviation used in management and project management to define goals and objectives. The first known use of the term occurs in the work of Paul Mayr (Paul J Meyer) in 1965 and later in November 1981 in the Management Review by George T. Doran [1] .
Decryption
There is no clear opinion how many criteria should be: five or seven. The following values are usually accepted:
| Letter | Value | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| S | Specific | Explains what exactly needs to be achieved. For example, "increase the net profit of your own enterprise." |
| M | Measurable | Explains how the result will be measured. “How much to hang in grams?” © If the indicator is quantitative, then it is necessary to identify units of measure, if it is qualitative, then it is necessary to identify the standard of relationship. For example, “increase the profit of one’s own enterprise by 25% relative to the net profit of the current year”. |
| A | Attainable | Explains why it is planned to achieve the goal. And is it possible to achieve it at all. For example, "to increase the profit of one's own enterprise by 25% relative to the net profit of the current year by reducing the cost of production, automating resource-intensive operations and reducing the number of employees engaged in the execution of automated operations by 80% of the current number." But to make a round-the-world cruise on a rubber duck is unlikely to succeed. |
| R | Relevant (Relevance) | Determination of the truth of the goal. Whether the fulfillment of this task will really achieve the desired goal You must make sure that this task is truly necessary. For example, if we take the “80% reduction in the number of employees engaged in the execution of automated operations” as a separate sub-task, which is also set by SMART, then you can not dismiss employees, but transfer them to other positions in which these employees can generate revenue for the company, and not just savings. If you take an insurance company, then instead of being fired, employees can be offered to continue working as an agent or not to spend money on automation, but simply increase the rate of production. |
| T | Time-bound | Definition of a temporary trigger / interval, at the beginning / end of which the goal should be achieved (task completed). For example, “by the end of the second quarter of next year, increase profits of our own enterprise by 25% relative to the net profit of the current year by reducing production costs, automating resource-intensive operations and reducing the number of employees engaged in automated operations by 80% of the current number." |
Notes
- ↑ Doran, GT (1981). There's a SMART way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, Volume 70, Issue 11 (AMA FORUM), pp. 35-36.