Although the acronym SMART generally stays the same, objectives and goals can differ. SMART criteria are commonly associated with Peter Drucker's management by objectives concept. The person setting the goal is said to gain a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered and the person evaluating can then assess the outcome based on defined criteria. employee and employer, or athlete and coach).

Those who support the use of SMART objectives suggest they provide a clear road map for both the person setting the goal and the person evaluating their progress (e.g. Additional letters have been added by some authors.

Since then, other variations of the acronym have been used, a commonly used version includes the alternative words: attainable, relevant, and timely. He suggested that goals should be SMART ( specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related). Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review. is a mnemonic acronym, giving criteria to guide in the setting of goals and objectives that are assumed to give better results, for example in project management, employee- performance management and personal development. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. health improvement, employment, sports) and to remove sentences that imply such goals are effective without supporting evidence. The reason given is: The article needs updating to include evidence either supporting or criticizing the use of SMART objectives in various contexts (e.g. The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to the use of SMART objectives in several contexts) may be compromised due to out-of-date information.

What does it mean to be objective