Know What You Need Before You Start Measuring
When you start a new project, for goodness sake, SET GOALS!
Create these goals clearly and concisely. Make sure they are measureable, that you can know if they have been met. Limit yourself to 3 goals at most for each project. Going past that likely means you are taking too much on in one gulp. This can result in murky results, missed deadlines and potential project failure. Having clear goals actually help you break down the steps required to meet them.
Goal setting needs to include someone from each team/ group involved.
• Management to get signoff and set desired outcomes.
• Users to state how they can see it working on a day to day basis.
• Tech to talk about what is possible and give time lines.
Once the goals are set:
• Determine how you will measure outcomes.
• Create tools that will help keep you on track.
• What are the milestones? (these can help determine a derailment early on if they are not met)
• Who has what responsibilities?
Keep in mind that goals may need to have some minor adjustments as new discoveries are made.
The basics of SMART goals are solid and work great. That is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.
Let me give you two samples:
Don’t use – I want a report of sales patterns.
Use – I want to see weekly sales patterns that reflect ebbs and flows of seasonal performance, so we can create marketing plans around those trends.
Don’t use – I want to increase sales.
Use – I want a 10% increase in sales revenue within 3 months
