SMART: Criteria For Defining A Problem

• ◾  Specific—The problem must be quantified. Rather than attempting to cure world hunger, which—besides being unlikely to be attainable—is a vague problem, the goal could be defined as “Increase the annual food supply in Country X by 50 percent for each person.”

• ◾  Measurable—The results must be able to be measured. Using the previous example, unless the current per capita food supply has been quantified, it is impossible to measure the increase.

• ◾  Attainable—The goal must be realistic.It may not be possible to increase the food supply by 50 percent, particularly not within a short time frame.

   ◾ Relevant—The change being made must satisfy an important customer requirement. In this example, the goal is relevant if the citizens of Country X suffer from malnutrition but not if they have an obesity epidemic.

  ◾ Time-bound—The expectation must be that the change will be achieved within a specified time frame rather than being open-ended. In an ideal situation, the time frame is measured in months rather than years. To make it time-bound, the world hunger statement could be expanded to read, “Increase the annual food supply in Country X by 10 percent for each person by the end of the current calendar year and by 15 percent for each successive twelve- month period.”