Setting Goals with Smart Project Management

The success of any project, especially when driven by multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams, depends largely upon having an effective project management system in place so that project goals can be achieved throughout its lifecycle. Smart project management focuses on keeping the project budgets, timelines, and resources optimized to deliver successful project results. The use of well-established best practices and innovative software solutions are critical components for achieving project success in this changing and complex business environment.

Definitions and Process of Setting Goals

Before a project can be managed effectively, the objectives and corresponding goals need to be established. Depending on the type of project, objectives and goals can range from clear-cut, near-term deliverables to highly strategic and long-term ambitions. Achieving these goals requires creating and managing an appropriate project plan that includes the right processes, activities, and tasks needed to bring the project to successful completion.

Goal-Setting Processes

In order to achieve project goals, managers and team members should be familiar with key processes that help to establish objectives, define measures of success, and set performance targets. These processes include the following:

• Objective setting: Preparing a clear, unambiguous definition of the project objectives and goals, that is measurable and achievable.
• Milestone setting: Determining smaller, more manageable task goals, which form the building blocks for successful project completion.
• Metrics: Establishing pertinent key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metric measurements that can be tracked along the way.
• Planning: Drafting a roadmap with action plans and timelines.
• Risk Management: Accounting for potential risks and developing mitigation strategies.

Technology to Help After Establishing Goals

Using the right project management software is essential in order to effectively manage project goals. Enterprise-level software solutions, such as Nucleus One, provide real-time visibility into budget-to-actuals, upcoming milestones, risk tracking, KPI tracking, and task management. In addition, software such as Nucleus One enables teams to collaborate better and share plans, tasks, documents and deadlines, keeping the project on schedule.

The Benefits of Effectively Setting Goals

Organizations that strive to consistently deliver successful projects need to ensure that projects are set up for success from the beginning -- which means ensuring a robust process for goal-setting is in place. Such a process, which utilizes technologies such as Nucleus One, can bring about several benefits for the organization, such as:

• Time efficiency: Effective goal-setting not only ensures goals that can be attained, but also helps prioritize tasks and activities, minimizing project turnaround times.
• Cost savings: Establishing goals accurately in the first place mitigates the costs incurred through delays, budget overruns, and last minute revisions.
• Increased reliability: Goals are tracked accurately and data is collected reliably, leading to greater confidence in the organization’s ability to deliver project outcomes.
• Clarity of accountability: Goal-setting processes and software solutions, such as Nucleus One, can eliminate any confusion and unclear expectations related to a project.

Conclusion

Project goals should be well-defined from the start of a project, and the processes and technologies that revolve around goal-setting and project management should be of the highest quality in order to ensure best-in-class results. By effectively utilizing a goal-setting process and an advanced project management software such as Nucleus One, you can ensure that the path to successful project completion remains clearly visible.