SMART

SMART is a criteria for setting goals. The example is focussed on engineering goals but the concept is generally applicable.

Specific: For a goal to be effective it needs to be specified clearly.

Improve load time -> Improve load time of product listing page

Measurable: Quantifying a goal helps to track progress and ultimately understand if it is acheived.

In our example latency is easily measurable so we can quantify that.

Improve load time of the product listing page to be under 10ms.

It is useful to contextualise measurements where possible.

Improve load time of the product listing page which currently takes 9s to be under 10ms.

Acheivable: It is important a goal is grounded in reality. Reality is defined by our experience and understanding of whats possible.

From experiece we know there are hard physical limits and research tells us under 1s would be considered acceptable.

Improve load time of the product listing page, which currently takes 9s, to be under 1s.

Relevant: Goals should always link back to a bigger story. It is very easy to commit to and spend energy on aimless goals.

Multiple customer have complained about the performance of the product listing page.
Improve load time of the product listing page, which currently takes 9s, to be under 1s.

Time-bound: It's important to have some timeframe to aid in gauging success. Setting a date helps in understanding if the goal is too ambitious or poorly specified and needs reworked.

Multiple customers have complained about the performance of the product listing page.
In the next 2 weeks work to improve load time of the product listing page, which currently takes 9s, to be under 1s.

References

Smarter, Better, Faster by Charles Duhigg