Strategic commercial interventions: SMART objectives and objective bank

3. Setting SMART Objectives

To ensure objectives are set in a way to allow them to be tracked, assessed and evaluated, Intervention Objectives should be set ‘SMART’, this gold-standard objective development methodology set out in the HMT Green Book and referenced in the SPFM should ensure that objectives are designed to comply with ‘SMART’ principles which are defined as being:

• Specific and clear to avoid ambiguity.
• Measurable through the inclusion of a quantifiable metric such as a figure or milestone achievement.
• Achievable, avoiding reference to externalities out with SG’s control.
• Realistic, understanding the company in question and the environment in which it operates to ensure objectives set are relevant.
• Time-limited, setting a targeted end date to focus efforts and review success or failure.

An example of a SMART objective might look like this: Our goal is to [quantifiable objective] by [timeframe or deadline]. [Key players or teams] will accomplish this goal by [what steps you’ll take to achieve the goal]. Accomplishing this goal will [result or benefit].

The HMT Green Book recommends setting up to 5 or 6 SMART objectives for a project, enough to be able to track success but not too many that the intervention lacks the required focus to be delivered. SMART Objective should be set so as not to bias potential long and short-list options towards preconceived solutions that have not been rigorously tested.