How to Write a Good Project Objective: The SMART Technique

In this podcast Ricardo talks about the project objective, he explains that many people think that only the name is enough to understand the project, but the objective is important to write and explain "what is" the project, within time and estimated costs. Ricardo also says that the objective should be a sentence that explains exactly what you want to do. The objective is not a justification, but is related to the work to be done, unlike the justification that is "why" the project will be done.

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Episode transcript

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Hello everybody welcome to the five minutes PM. Podcast Today let's discuss the Project. Objective one of the things that I see most of the time at the people think that the objective is something untangible and that is something that it must be beautiful and very well written to show very strong impact. So a built a good relationship with customers and something like that.

This is not the Project Objective. This is the reason why you are doing this. And when we think about pros at Objective, we are not thinking about why we need to think what we need to do. And based on that, there is a business mistake. When we try to address Project Objective by the name, Oh, Project a competitive advantage. And everybody will understand that this is not true.

We need to understand that the objective is something extremely important for the project. How do I write the Objective? How do I write the first? It's a, a one sentence statement, or try to do this one sentence. Start with and finish with duct to three lines in that Sol in what you do need to write on the Project Objective you meet to write what you need to do base it on one very Zen smart statement.

Why is a smart pass specific? So all Objective must be specific for that case. There is no generic, one M many trouble. I can measure the results I can measure. So numeric information must be inside a agreed. You must tell everybody in the gree with this, this statement.

So we will, you cannot right and put on your drawer's and forget it. No, no, the Objective must be on the Whoa in Boulder, the ladders. So everybody can read. I can see and can understand our realistic. We are from SMART is realistic. So you must write something that you are able to do and the its time constraint that you need to put some information about time.

And I do, we love also to put the sea instead of a SMART I put SMART and why the C, because it's a cost constraint. And also it's not required that you put the costs, but it's a strongly desired. So let me give you an example, built a new home. This is completely wrong as a project Objective this is much more I Project name then a prototype Objective because it's completely generic.

There is no other information. So maybe every single listener of this podcast will think and understand that completely different home. So why we need to do so we need to understand, okay. Okay. I'd like to Butte, a new home in Miami beach in front of the ocean with about 2,500 square meters, meters in two floors, in a high level construction in a piece of land that I own in 24 months and 2.3 million us dollars.

I agreed with my wife and my two daughters dot. This is a good Objective. Why, because a much more specific I'm telling that dimensions, the level of finishing for this home, and also that I own the land. This remembered Objective its like a DNA, a DNA off the Project. This is something that we must avoid all the time to change.

Because if you change the Project Objective you are changing the Project DNA. And if I told that I own the land, there is no. Or think about what should I do and what should I not do? Okay. And this is very important. This is very important. Let me give you one, one second example to finish this. Podcast change the floor off this room.

This is completely generic. It's not a specific, it's not realistic. There is no time information. Let's rewrite it in the much more sharp description. Change the floor of the meeting room of the ninth floor, all of my corporate headquarters at greed with the department of construction of my company, we for floor a floor that tolerates it's very and very safe in 12 days and 15, the thousand us dollar dot look, the difference.

Look at the difference. Look at it. This will base my DNA. So I know which room is that. I know the size of the room. I know that its that meeting room. I know the kind of flooring that I'm looking for. I agree with that, that with the department that is responsible for that, I know that I have 12 days. I knew that I have $50,000. Look the difference. Look the difference. So this will make sense. You get extremely good DNA and with an extremely good, the DNA we're doing the first step to an extremely good Project.

I hope you enjoy this podcast. See you next week with another five minutes PM. Podcast.

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How to Write a Good Project Objective: The SMART Technique

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