Several people cannot fully differentiate project goals and objectives. Even though these two describe what the project aims to accomplish, they are quite different. Any business that seeks to develop and expand its territories needs both to represent the business value a project is bound to achieve.
In this article, we will look at the definition of a project goal, its importance, how to write a good one, and some examples. In the end, you will understand what a project goal is and how you can come up with one for your project.
What is a Project Goal?
Simply put, a project goal is a high-level statement aligning to the business goals that offer an overall context of what a given project is destined to achieve. It is the comprehensive outcome that a given project is aiming to achieve.
The project goal highlights the impact of the project, which triggers the long-term effects. It, therefore, offers a bridge between a project and its direct influence.
A good project goal will describe the effects of the project at the impact level. Most of the time, the words ‘The project will contribute to…’ or any other related phrases are used when outlining the project goal. The goal should also link the project to the broad objectives of the business.
It is usually a factual statement of what a project ought to achieve. Therefore, when coming up with a project goal, ask yourself the project’s outcome when it is complete.
Why are Project Goals Important?
Just like we need goals in our lives, goal setting in projects is also very useful. Here are some of the reasons:
- Planning
A team must plan to achieve a given project goal successfully. Remember, completing the set goals ensures project success. Having defined goals will motivate the organization to come up with frameworks to ensure goal success.
- Performance
Having clear project goals pushes the team members to give their all. These goals channel all their activities and efforts towards the goal-related activities while keeping them from any unrelated activity. It offers a clear path.
Having clear goals will also energize the employees or those responsible for the execution of a given project. These parties will give their all to ensure that the project goals are achieved. They also drive persistence as employees will put more effort towards the achievement of different goals.
Lastly, having goals motivates stakeholders or employees to explore their existing knowledge and use them to attain the goal. It may also drive some to acquire given knowledge to ensure success.
- Focus
Having clear project goals helps keep the organization and stakeholders focused on what is most important in achieving the project. Several distractions can occur during the length of a given project, resulting in veering off from the set guidelines.
Project goals serve to bring team members back on track and ensure that each meeting is structured to move the project forward.
- Unity
Working to achieve a given goal fosters unity among employees and stakeholders. They will channel all their efforts towards achieving the set goal(s), creating one voice. Remember, people usually come together when fighting against a common enemy, and in this case, the success of a given project.
Therefore, whether the team is progressing slowly, it will be inclined towards executing the project quickly, safely, and reasonably, qualities that are needed for the success of given tasks.
A project goal acts as the ultimate guideline. It details what the project is geared to achieve. It is usually from the goal that other project aspects are derived.
How to Write a Good Project Goal
Writing a good project goal is crucial if you want the project to be successful. It to be specific and backed with a plan of action, or else everything will come crumbling down as the project progresses.
Therefore, here are some of the ways that you can come up with a good project goal:
- Identifying the important things
The first thing that you ought to do when coming up with a project goal is to identify what is important to you and the people involved. An essential part of goal management is to understand that everything in a project needs to have apriority.
Therefore, take some time and talk to the parties involved to help you develop a list of some of the critical things that must be achieved. You can ask your project sponsor about some of the things that he/ she would rather see the project deliver than fail to.
After coming up with some of the things that you and the stakeholders would like to see a given project deliver, engage your decision-making skills and techniques to come up with a goal matching the project.
- Do not be vague
One of the things you should avoid when writing a project goal is vagueness. Never write a vague goal. Well, it may be a broad statement subject to different interpretations, but your project goal has to be specific and defined.
After identifying the critical things that the project needs to achieve, clearly write down the goals so that whoever is reading will have an easy time understanding the project’s purpose.
- Ensure that the goal aligns with the problem statement
Your goal should be in line with the problem statement. Ensure that it reveals the intention of solving a given problem. The only way your reader will identify this intention is by aligning your goal to the problem statement.
If your problem statement revolves around sanitation and issues touching on hygiene, your goal should clearly state that you will improve sanitation and proper hygiene in the area through the given project. Remember, the goal is what the project will achieve when it is complete.
- Consistency
Always make sure that your project goal is consistent with the organization’s vision and mission statement. Every organization seeks to address particular social and development issued, which must be captured when drafting goals.
Remember, whatever the company or organization does should be in line with achieving its overall mission and working towards its vision statement. Therefore, if your company is mainly concerned with low-income families, the project proposal’s goals should be relevant to low-income families.
Always make sure that your goals are relevant to the primary stakeholders.
- Simplicity
You do not need complicated language when writing a project goal. Remember, you should frame the goals so that even a third party finds them easy to understand. Always ensure that you use simple language when writing project goals.
Technical words and big vocabularies may look appealing, but they should not be included in your project goals. Nobody should have to use a dictionary to understand what your goals are. Remember, goals give a reader an idea of the problems you intend to address and therefore be easy to understand.
- Number of goals
Project goals are different from objectives, and therefore when writing them, you have to understand that multiple goals breed confusion, which you should avoid. The goal is usually a broad statement covering a range of things to be addressed by the given objectives.
This is the main reason why the project objectives are derived from the goals. Avoid having several goals for one project to avoid confusion.
50 Project Goals Examples
- Increased Revenue. Build a new website for the company to improve online sales by 30% over the next two years.
- Improved menu and food quality. Redesign the kitchen with new appliances to improve quality and add more food to the menu.
- Improve efficiency. Replace the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in the office to reduce cooling costs by 40% and heating costs by 10%.
- Increased productivity. Create a new accounting system with automation and powerful user interfaces to reduce workload.
- To eradicate harmful means of production and promote green energy in our production means.
- Improve the standard of living of 5 villages in Northern Guangzhou by using a local-resource-based approach.
- To facilitate quality training to the employees through team learning and building.
- To promote proper sanitation in the community by building a dam and different approaches.
- To foster office productivity and increased profit turnaround by the next fiscal year.
- To show how the organization can achieve employee unity through constant teamwork and goal-setting.
- To realize employee satisfaction through the introduction of flexible hours.
- To encourage the use of alternative sources of dispute resolution instead of litigation to reduce case backlog.
- Build a new application for the company to boost online sales by 20% in the next three years.
- To encourage proper disposal of wastes to protect the health of individuals and the community at large.
- Increase safety in the workplace by adopting safer means of production for employee wellness.
- Increase overall profit turnaround through automation and use of different machines.
- Roll out three new software for the company every year and improve employee satisfaction.
- Improve process performance by 30% in 3 years by the use of advanced technology and metrics.
- Get 80% of free-trial users to sign up for the Premium and Exquisite plans.
- Attract five different financiers to invest in the business in the course of 5 years.
- Gain ten new backlinks in a month to increase page visibility and attract new customers for the business.
- To cleanse contact data in the sales automation platform and reduce visible errors and improve overall productivity.
- To improve actionable information deliveries faster and do away with the existing trading platform.
- Deliver 2 million queries a year and ensure that the users are satisfied with at least 70% of the questions.
- To improve turnaround time by 20% and earn higher placement in the search results.
- To identify low-performance modules to improve system efficiency and promote output by 40%.
- To promote wellness through the use of natural means among teenagers between 12-18 years.
- To increase consumer satisfaction through the application of modern methods of communication and technology.
- To improve water sanitation in the neighboring community and eradicate cases of waterborne diseases by 2023.
- To improve office systems and boost production means by the second quarter.
- To improve the quantity of gas production by 50% over the next two years for more profit.
- To eradicate cases of office theft and bridge losses suffered on the loss of equipment.
- To achieve free education for the neighboring communities by 2030 to counter the rising cases of illiteracy.
- To fully revolutionize production methods in the company by adopting the use of machines by 2022 to save on costs and production effort.
- To realize safe production means and 99% waste recycling by June 2022 to counter excessive pollution.
- To scale down power usage by 70% to save costs before the next office audit on September 5th.
- To include the local community in the operations of the power plant to improve awareness.
- To promote the use of green energy to counter the rising cases of environmental pollution.
- To build warehouses in 20 remote areas with large populations to improve our reach by 2025.
- To rely 90% on clean energy by January 2022 to reduce environmental pollution.
- To fully incorporate new production methods by July 2021 and boost productivity.
- To promote teamwork and employee wellness to encourage performance and maximum output.
- To eradicate cases of information loss by adopting advanced storage systems.
- To promote workplace safety and minimize cases of employee accidents.
- To eradicate security breaches by using advanced means of information storage and firewalls.
- To improve customer satisfaction and drive sales by using new marketing techniques.
- To promote safe sharing of data and prevent cases of data falling into the wrong hands.
- To oversee proper resource allocation for the year 2022 and prevent wastage of money and resources.
- To gauge the employee’s ability and pair them with the right departments before the commencement of the next quarter.
- To increase employee access to information for better teamwork.
Conclusion
Every project must have a defined goal for proper execution. The goals provide a framework for coming up with the project objectives. Ensure that the goals are consistent with the vision and mission statement of the organization.
