SMART goals template

by Atlassian

Use the SMART goals framework to keep your team on track.

KEY FEATURES

Goal Setting

Goal Tracking

Task Planning

CATEGORIES

Project Management

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Page template

Every project your business undertakes has a specific set of goals. The clearer and more focused on business benefits those goals are, the more likely your project is to succeed. Crafting your goals is arguably the most critical early step in your entire project journey.

In this article, we’ll explain what a SMART goals template is, what its benefits are, and how to use the template effectively.

Overview
Benefits
How to
Why Confluence?

What is a SMART goals template?

The SMART approach (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) is a proven method for setting goals effectively.

If you want to know how to write SMART goals, you should start by using a SMART goals template. A SMART goals template (or SMART objectives template) provides a structured framework to help you and your project management team craft SMART goals consistently to increase workplace productivity and strengthen project collaboration.

Whatever their specifics, those goals should share the following characteristics.

Specific: You should clearly define your goals and make sure they focus on business benefits.
Measurable: Goals should be quantifiable and easy to denote as complete when appropriate.
Achievable: Your goals can be ambitious, but they should always be practical and achievable.
Relevant: Goals should deliver a meaningful benefit to specific stakeholders.
Time-bound: You should ensure your goal includes a clear timeframe or deadline for success.

The benefits of using a SMART goals template

Promotes clarity and focus

The SMART goals format helps you and your teams define specific project objectives and focus on what truly matters. It marks a key junction in the project planning process, and a SMART goals template helps make this process easier and more consistent across multiple projects and stakeholder groups.

Establishes measurable criteria

You need measurable, meaningful criteria to track project progress and determine success. Examples of measurable criteria include cost reductions, shortened incident resolution times, and improved customer satisfaction survey results. A SMART goals template can provide reminders and examples to help you and your colleagues focus every project on measurable evaluation criteria.

Ensures attainability

Ambitious project goals can motivate your team, but overly aggressive or unattainable goals can frustrate stakeholders and burn out project participants. Complying with the criteria outlined in your SMART goals template helps ensure the scope of your goals is reasonable.

Maintains relevance

Every project exists to meet the objectives of select stakeholders and your business as a whole. A SMART goals template can help you and your team keep your goals relevant and aligned with stakeholder and organizational expectations and objectives.

Sets a timeline

Goals are only effective with deadlines. A SMART goals template must include a clear, comprehensive, detailed project timeline. This can highlight and reinforce the importance of clear, time-bound goals, encourage a sense of urgency, and prompt consistently timely action across your entire project team.

Enhances motivation

Clear, attainable goals help provide clear paths to progress and success and timely, actionable feedback to your project teams. The structured approach of SMART goals helps accelerate understanding and boost motivation by enabling these and other benefits.

How to use the SMART goals template

Step 1. Make sure all of your goals are SMART

To maximize the value of your SMART goals template, begin by reviewing each goal to ensure it’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. This may seem more challenging or time-consuming than your usual goal-setting methods, but the benefits to your project planning and execution will make the added effort worthwhile.

Step 2. Use examples to understand proper goal-setting

Your template includes examples of SMART goals that will help you and your colleagues better understand the properties your goals must have. For example, each of your SMART goals should have a time limit or deadline and clear performance criteria so your efforts don’t drag on endlessly with unclear metrics that lead to scope creep.

Step 3. Use the table to define goals

For each SMART goal you want to set, use the template table to align your goals and entire project roadmap with success according to the needs of your business and stakeholders. With properly defined SMART goals, you, your team, and your project stakeholders and decision-makers will know exactly what you plan to achieve, when you anticipate success, and what benefits your project will deliver.

Use Confluence to create SMART goals

Confluence is a connected workspace that enables teams to capture, consolidate, share, and use knowledge among individuals and teams, wherever they are.

With Confluence, teams have access to:

Versatile content creation. Confluence provides a dedicated, integrated toolset crafted for the lifecycle of information. From ideation and goal-setting to knowledge management, Confluence consolidates information sharing across your organization.
A structure that scales. Confluence is the only connected workspace intentionally designed to turn information into accessible knowledge so that everyone can actually find what they need when they need it.
Best-in-class integrations. Confluence’s two-way integrations consolidate information creation and sharing without sacrificing individual flexibility. Different teams use different tools, but Confluence can be the one place where everything comes together for centralized, structured access to your project information.

Start drafting your SMART goals with this free and flexible Confluence template.

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