SMART analysis - how to formulate objectives

It is easier to succeed when your goals are clearly defined and based on reality. With help comes SMART analysis used in front of companies, but also in everyday life.

Goals are part of any business, whether small or large. They provide a sense of direction and motivation to meet them. By setting a goal you have something to aim for. In the business world, however, you cannot just write down the goals of an enterprise. For they will not actually translate into reality. With the help of SMART analysis, you can increase your chances of achieving your goal.

SMART analysis - explanation of the acronym

The word SMART is an acronym from five English words: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. In Polish, these words respectively mean that a goal should be: specific (concrete), measurable, achievable, realistic and placed in time. What do these abbreviations mean?

Every target in the company must be:

• specific - adequately defined, unambiguous, concrete and clear to everyone
• measurable - meaning that it contains appropriate criteria for measuring progress towards the objective
• achievable - i.e. possible to achieve
• realistic - within reach
• timely - placed at a specific time, with a specific schedule, with a start and end date.

How do you set a target by criteria?

SMART analysis is a detailed yet extremely simple method of identifying an achievable goal. Any good leader knows how to use it.

First, it should start with the first criterion, namely specificity. A concrete and properly defined objective has a better chance of being realised and leaves no room for any arbitrary interpretations. In order to make it specific, several questions need to be asked:

• Who: Who is involved in achieving the objective?
• What: What do I intend to achieve?
• Where: Where is the objective to be achieved?
• When: When do I want to achieve it?
• Why: Why do I want to achieve it?

Example: by the end of the year we will have increased our product sales by 10%.

Another point is the measurability of the goal, which allows us to check our progress. The idea is that you should be able to estimate the extent to which you have achieved your goal. This will allow you to monitor your progress on an ongoing basis. In this case, questions will be helpful:

• How much?
• How will I know that I have achieved my goal?
• What is the indicator of my progress?

Example: We will increase our company's revenue by 5%.

SMART analysis also emphasises the achievability of goals. It must be achievable, so ask yourself questions:

• Do I have the capacity and resources to achieve the goal?
• What am I missing?
• Have others managed to achieve this before?

The goal also needs to be realistic, i.e. it can be realistically achieved given the time and resources available. Ask yourself questions here:

• Is the target within reach?
• Are you able to commit sufficiently to achieve the goal?

The final issue is timeliness, i.e. putting the target on the schedule map. This gives us motivation and a sense of urgency. Ask 2 questions here:

• Does my target have a deadline?
• By when do you want to achieve the target?

Example: wording such as by the end of the year, by the end of the month, in 2 years' time, etc.

Over the last few years, the SMART analysis has been expanded to an acronym: SMARTER.

• Exciting - the goal must not be boring, it has to inspire, encourage and motivate.
• Written down - if we write down our goal and not just leave it in our head it becomes more tangible to us.

SMART analysis - an example

Let's use one simple example to fully understand how to set targets. Our goal: to increase website traffic by at least 10% by the end of 2022. How does this fit into the SMART method?

• Specific - I will increase website traffic by at least 20% by the end of 2022,
• measurable - I will use standard website traffic monitoring tools for this. I will use Google Analytics, for example, which allows me to measure my progress on an ongoing basis,
• achievable - the task is prioritised over others, meaning that it is achievable,
• realistic - 20% is realistic to achieve. If you had entered, for example, 90% it might have been difficult to achieve,
• time-bound - I have set a specific project deadline of the end of 2022.

Benefits of SMART goal setting

Each analysis has advantages and disadvantages within it. What are the benefits of a SMART analysis? First and foremost, clear communication and coordination for your team. Objectives set using the SMART method are comprehensible to employees, and this translates directly into their increased motivation. This analysis allows you to clearly define the success of the project avoiding ambiguity and ambiguity. It sets a clear objective that you know how to achieve and when. What's more, SMART analysis makes it easy to measure, evaluate and draw conclusions once the project is finalised. The method is simple and achievable by anyone, not just a company manager. The principles are easy to understand and extremely effective. And, above all, it is a universal analysis, suitable for any subject matter. Not just business. You can even use it in everyday life: learning languages, losing weight, buying a flat - all goals can be dissected using SMART analysis.

SMART wheel analysis Porter's 5 forces analysis, if PESTEL analyses is a cornerstone in every company. It sets boundaries and determines what steps need to be taken. It increases your likelihood of successfully achieving your goal.