Left Menu:

Ready... Set.. Goals!

 

Most software projects don't meet their goals. Does your project even have one, or are you still waiting for the perfect conditions?

 

Man on the moon

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy presented a bold challenge before a joint session of Congress: Send a man to the moon by the end of the decade.
Kennedy's vision guided NASA's human space flight program from the beginning. Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions were designed with his objective in mind. That’s right. NASA didn’t achieve its goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth by aiming for just a liftoff. That’s how great things happen, and that’s exactly how you ship great software.

Goals result in results

One reason companies cannot achieve results is that they don’t know how to define the results in the first place.
If you work for a project where goals are not set ahead of time, and are not properly set, of course you cannot achieve them later. Take sports for example. Can you imagine practicing your free throws without having a basket nearby? Moreover, can you imagine Tiger Woods practicing his swing and then asking his cuddy to move the hole to were the ball went?

Most software projects are managed without setting proper goals. Six months or a year from now, the project will be wherever the environment and conditions will stir it to.

Project Focus

Goal setting techniques are used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. They give you long-term vision and short-term motivation. Goals help you focus your efforts on balancing time and resources so that you can make the most of your work. By setting sharp, clearly defined project goals, you can measure achievements and recognize yours and your team ability to focus on the tasks at hand.

Focus Focus Focus - it is absolutely essential that your project goals are aligned with the business focus.

Take on a bigger problem

I invite you to take on a bigger problem. First, it’s a lot more interesting and inspiring for the people you work with or for to be part of something bigger. Second, it drives better results.

It’s nice that you can program a form where employees can report and bill their time. It is nicer if you can automate the process and save them the time of doing so. It’s really nice if you can find a way for Mr. or Ms. Smith to smile their way into the office and have your system start billing her client while she is making the morning latte.

Third, if you don’t want your project to end up with the inevitable results, you have to aim for different ones.

Think of your last two projects.
Think of the last two apps you developed.
If the results weren’t good, that’s exactly where you are heading the next time. And what if the results were good enough? Then maybe the goals were probably too easy for your skills. We both know that with your talent you could have done a lot better and that’s where you should aim for your next assignment. Your manager wants to play it safe? It is up to you to sell him on your idea, otherwise he will sell you on his. If you are not sure what to do, here is a trick you can use. First Imagine what you can do, and then take it one step farther.
That’s a good start.

Shoot for the moon

On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center. It entered orbit 12 minutes later. Aboard were Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin. They on July 20, 1969, became the first humans to land on the Moon to fulfill President Kennedy's goal which he expressed during his 1961 speech.

If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. If you shoot for the moon - even if you miss - you'll still land among the stars.