What Are Project Objectives?

In simple language it is the chronological order of steps you will take to achieve you project
aim. What you will do which ensures that your project will succeed.

A project objective is a statement that describes the “what” of your project. The tangible
and measurable “what”. The “what” that’s achievable, realistic, and can be completed within
the time allowed. These statements ladder up to the goals of the project, providing stepping stones
to success.

Why Are Project Objectives Important?

Project objectives are the guideposts when making decisions throughout the lifespan of the project.
They communicate project purpose in clear, tangible morsels.
Just as with personal goals, having clear objectives for our projects is the first step in moving from
where we are to where we want to be.
Have you ever set the goal to “be healthier” as a new years’ resolution? How successful were you?
This is a much more achievable and measurable goal if we add some details. For example:
 I will go to the gym (a class, by myself or go for a substantial walk) at least 3 times a week
for 4 months straight.
or
 I will eat a homemade dinner four of seven nights a week for 2 months.
 It’s important to have well-defined project objectives that all stakeholders review and agree to. You
need these objectives at project initiation and you’ll reference them throughout the lifecycle of the
project. This is true for agile, waterfall, scrumfall, agile or
whatever project methodology combination you’re using. We project managers use them
throughout every step of the project as a guidepost to make sure we’re doing right by our project
and by our client.
Project Goals Vs. Project Objectives: Aren’t They The Same Thing?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: while they relate to one another, the goals and objectives serve different purposes.
The goal is usually a high level target set by the business which is the underlying driver behind a
project (and how they put the budget towards it). The objective is the detailed outline of the big
picture of the project. Imagine a connect the dot diagram, the goals are the dots but the objectives
are the numbers. The objectives help direct you to the end result of the project.
Here are some goal vs. objective examples:

Goal Objectives

An increase of form completions by 5% in the first quarter.

Implement validation to improve the quality of the leads captured in the forms decreasing the number of
Improved Leads false data by 10% in the first year.

Users can get to high profile content in three clicks or less.

Better UX The website will be inclusive and should meet WCAG2.1AA by 2020.
How To Identify The Right Project Objectives
While having objectives is important, having the right project objectives is the true key to success.
If your internal dialogue goes something like this, you’re doing it right:
 Do I really want to increase page views by 20%? Or is it more valuable to increase quality
leads by 5%?
 Is time on the page important? Or does that mean our users can’t find what they’re looking
for?
 Is it more valuable to make sure key information is always available within a maximum
number of clicks? Is it more valuable to increase use of search? Or would that mean our
information isn’t easy to find?
 Are form completes important on a page? Or is it more important to drive users to supporting
content?
Notice how, in each example, you’re questioning what you’re measuring. Over the course of many,
many, projects I’ve had a lot of goal repetition because of “industry” standards. Those common
benchmarks might not make sense for your project and it’s important to question your knee-jerk
decisions and think strategically about the goals you set.
Here is an example showing the questions you can ask to find the right project objectives:
 Increasing page views by xx%
o Is that more valuable than an increase in quality leads by 5%?
o Are page views important if bounce rates are high?
 o Should we be looking to decrease bounce rates instead?
But what if you can’t answer these questions? Well, your team members and clients probably can,
or they can provide valuable insight that will help you fill in the holes.
How To Set SMART Project Objectives
Other than being a super convenient to remember anagram, the SMART approach to writing
objectives helps lay the groundwork to make sure you’ve got everything you need for a clearly laid
out.
What Does SMART Mean?
SMART is an acronym that stands for:
 S = Specific
 M = Measurable
 A = Achievable (or attainable, actionable, appropriate)
 R = Realistic
 T = Time-bound (or timely, traceable)
And here’s what each part of the SMART acronym means:
Specific
Make sure your objective is clearly defined. Narrow your scope of the objective so that is has a very
tangible and specific outcome. This helps you focus your intent. When writing this part of the
objective think of the Who, What, Where, When and Why of it all.
Measurable
Make sure you can actually quantify the objective. If it’s not measurable, you won’t know when the
project objective has been met. You want to make sure the objective is trackable to keep you and
the team accountable.
Achievable
Make sure you can accomplish the objective. Identify the clear steps that need to happen to make
sure the objective is completed. When writing this portion of the objective as yourself how you will
accomplish it? What steps need to be taken in order to accomplish the specific objective you’ve
defined?
Realistic
This one is really important. Don’t set objectives that can’t be achieved within the constraints of the
project. Make sure your objective is practical.  Do you have the budget to do this? Is there enough
time? Does your team have the right knowledge or do you have time to invest in learning?
Time-Bound
When will this be done by? Having a clear end date defined helps everybody involved. It lets you
know when you need to focus on that objective. It also helps you set a relationship between
multiple objectives on a project as well. If you can’t do objective C until A is done and A is getting
done in Q1, then you should have C completed in Q2.
Tips For Using The SMART Framework
Aside from abiding by the SMART objective approach, you should also follow some other best
practices when writing your project objectives.
1. Use plain, simple language. You’re not trying to assert your dominance of the English
language (or whichever language you’re writing your objectives in). It should be quickly
scannable and understood.
2. Use action words when describing the specific goal. You should be doing or achieving
something.
3. Use numbers to quantify your objectives and dates. Don’t be afraid of our friends
123456789 and 0.
 Examples Of SMART Objectives

Here are a few sample objectives both project and life related to get your brain juices going.
By December 2019, our Jr. Designer and Jr. Developer will have used their 4 extra hours per
week to launch a website with 5 pages and 1 form, coming to a total of $3,000.

Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time-bound

Our Jr. Developer and Jr.

I’ll allocate 100 Designer each have 4
hours for a Jr. hours per week
Designer and Jr. available to work on the
The website will Developer at blended project and have done
I will launch a website for $3,000 have 5 pages and rate of $30/hour to similar projects for By December
dollars. 1 form. stay within budget. $3,000. 2019

I will participate in
professional
I will set clear I will achieve this by development courses
objectives and staying focused, and volunteer for For my next
measure my working hard and project opportunities annual
progress against proving and that will allow for review, in
them through the documenting my growth throughout the one year’s
I will get a raise at work. year. value. year. time.
I find the table helpful for organizing my thoughts, but if you do prefer writing out a sentence don’t
feel constrained by the order of S.M.A.R.T.  I like to start my project objective statement with the
time-bound element. “By March..” or “in three months time…” It helps frame the statement I’m
trying to make, but this is 100% a personal preference. More Examples Of SMART Project
Objectives
 Instead of: I want to finish more projects on budget.
 Try: I will get involved in the estimation process, track budget daily, and communicate
budget concerns to my teams in our daily meeting to get my next 3 projects to finish within a
+/- 10% range of the original estimate.
 Instead of: Improve the site’s user experience.
 Try: We will reduce the number of clicks it takes for a user to reach the highest traffic page
that the majority of our website users regularly visit (the member directory) from any point on
the site to 2 clicks or less by the end of our design phase on June 1st.
 Instead of: More form completes.
 Try: We will increase the number of qualified leads (as confirmed by SalesForce) by 5% by
reducing the required fields in the form by the end of Q3.
 Instead of: Accessible website.
 Try: We will build the website to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards, that will be thoroughly
tested against the criteria and is deployed to production by May 2020.
Plus, you might be able to steal one for your professional development planning this year!
 Instead of: I want a good review this year
 Try: By March 2020 I want to increase my annual review score from a 3 to a 4 by
completing one course, reading one book and committing to spend on average 1 hour a week
on professional growth.

If you write your project objectives well, they’ll help your projects succeed by providing clear, easy-
to-understand expectations for your clients, along with concrete objectives that your teams can
easily break down into tasks and steps.
You can use the sample template below to write your project rather than writing in lame bullet
points which ensures in many cases you don’t even know what objectives means.
These templates ensure that you have the idea “objectives in total achieves the aim”
Example of an objective list using the template
Or instead of dividing into categories you can use one