Objective: A definition

There are two parts to a good objective:  Purpose and Stop Criteria (also called “the end state”).

1. Purpose: Reason(s) why the task needs to be done
2. End state/Stop Criteria: Explains when to stop working on the task, because the desired quality and characteristics of the results have been achieved.

These are typical questions to ask, to define the objective:

• Purpose:
  • Why are we doing this task?
  • What is it important?
  • How will its results be used (by following tasks or people)?

• Stop Criteria:
  • Level of quality required (of course, define what quality is for the task)
  • What do people want as results of this task, to ensure they succeed at the tasks that
    follow?
  • What is an acceptable result versus what is unacceptable?
  • How do you decide that the work you have performed on the task is good enough – so that you can stop working on it?

What an objective is NOT:

Objective is not a task description:
Many engineers attempt to define the steps (sub-tasks) to complete the task.  They think that the desired results are logically obvious and need little additional discussion.  Don’t do it.  It’s only obvious to you, I promise.

Tip:
Do you define good objectives? Try this:

Write your objective.  Then ask a co-worker to cross-out any fragment of a sentence that deals with how to do the task (look for action verbs).  What’s left?  Does it address purpose and stop criteria?  If not, your objective needs to be clarified.

Objective is not the Deliverable:
Deliverables are just a list of output.  You need the objective to qualify the deliverable.

• Example of deliverable:
  • Production drawings
  • System requirements
• Example of Objective:
  • Production drawings in a form that nobody needs to call you to clarify details later.
    (This is a real issue from my coaching files – when new products are sent to production).
  • System requirements that are not ambiguous: the software group will not make the wrong interpretation.

Discussing objectives is a good habit to develop.  You’ll find defining the purpose straightforward.  Defining the Stop Criteria takes a bit more practice.

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To read more:

Military doctrine defines a concept called “Commander’s Intent”, a good example of Objective:

• A concise expression of the purpose of the operation
  (purpose is defined as the reason for the operation with respect to the mission of next higher unit)
• A clear expression of the desired end state
• It is the single unifying focus for all subordinate elements.

The exact source can be found here (pdf format) on page 5-10, article 5-55.

There are many military blogs on the subject, for example this one.