Fundamentals of Project Management, Third Edition

Developing Project Objectives

Once a mission statement has been developed, you can write your project objectives. Note that objectives are much more specific than the mission statement itself and define results that must be achieved in order for the overall mission to be accomplished. Also, an objective defines the desired end result.

Goal setting has traditionally been based on past performance. This practice has tended to perpetuate the sins of the past.

—J. M. Juran

I may want to finish this chapter by 10 o’clock this morning. That is my desired outcome or result—my objective. The way in which I achieve that objective is to perform a number of tasks. These might include typing text into my computer, reviewing some other literature on the ...