10 Essential Project Management Goals with Examples

10 Key Project Management Goals and Examples to Boost Performance

What separates great project management from good or mediocre? 

Project management teams never set out to just barely meet the target. They want to wow and excel, but achieving this involves more than delivering on time, managing budgets, and hitting the messaging bullseye. 

The truth is great project management is knowing how to excel at setting and delivering clear, strategic goals that drive success at every single facet of the project. 

Are your project management goals just a checklist of basic objectives to click off? 

Let’s change this.

Download our Project Management Checklist

What are Project Management Goals?

What is the goal of project management?

The answer isn’t complicated.

Project management goal setting determines your destination. When you embark on a new project, it’s a journey. Your goals define where you want to go, even if you don’t yet have directions to get there. 

Just like you don’t set out on a planned trip with an unclear idea of where you’re going or how to get there, goals need to be more than abstract ideas. Otherwise, you find yourself fubared on the side of the road, blaming Google Maps for the mess you’re in. 

So, the first step is to ask what you want to achieve. Whether the goal is small or bold, make sure it’s clearly defined. 

Will your agency be richer by a million bucks?

Will you be able to have a thousand more clients by the end of the year?

Maybe implement a new process of knowing who scrolls on social media while on the clock?

Effective project management goals are specific, and they’re measurable. Project goals are statements that tell you what you need to have accomplished by the end of the project. They are created in alignment with the company's priorities and general business targets.

Difference Between Goals and Project Objectives

In project management, goals and objectives often seem interchangeable, but they each serve a distinct purpose in the overall scope of the project. 

Goals and project management objectives operate at different levels of detail. Goals are the big-picture outcomes, or what you want to achieve. Objectives are the specific, actionable steps that define the project management process. 

Let’s take one of the above goals as an example. 

You want your agency to have a thousand more clients by the end of the year. Now, say there’s a new service launch that can be used as a springboard for achieving this goal. 

From here, break the goal down into smaller, actionable chunks. 

• Develop a marketing strategy for the launch.
• Secure a larger target audience through organic social media reach, content marketing, and SEO
• Release a few teasers to whet the appetite 
• Create a press kit 
• Etc.,...

Strategic objectives and goals are both equally important to the success of project management.

Importance/Benefits of Project Management Goals

If you want your project to go smooth like butta’, strong project management goal setting is key. There’s a lot of talk about how goals are important for the project’s managers and team, but the true gold is found in the benefits for the project itself. 

Precision Project Direction

Goals provide a well-defined purpose and direction for the project. This ensures that all efforts are aligned with the desired outcome. Goals keep the project on course, keep teams laser-focused on the prize, and minimize drifting off the path. 

Efficient Resource Allocation 

Projects don’t have limitless budgets, no matter how deep the pockets are. Goals provide a sense of direction that allows teams to prioritize their tasks and allocate resources more efficiently. 

Time, money, and energy can be focused on actionable objectives that contribute to reaching the goal, minimizing waste and inefficiency. 

Manage Obstacles and Minimize Risk 

You know those projects where everything is running swimmingly, then something happens and it all goes to hell? 

Mistakes happen, but it’s safe to put money on the fact that a lack of clearly defined goals was to blame. 

Crystal clear goals make it easier to identify potential risks and spot obstacles before they have the chance to send the project into a tailspin. Teams can anticipate challenges and proactively develop mitigation strategies to protect the project at each stage. 

Measurable Results 

Clear goals make it possible to establish defined benchmarks for project success. This is even more critical when client expectations are involved. 

Projects can be measured against the goals at specific stages, ensuring that the project is achieving the intended results. This is a level of accountability that guarantees a project delivers real value. 

Next up, let’s take a closer look at some project management goals examples.

10 Goals in Project Management with Examples

1. Improve Client Relationships 

While some projects are internal and not client-facing, those that do involve clients demand special care. Building strong client relationships is critical for the success of these projects. Satisfied clients are more likely to invest in your team by trusting your process, offering their repeat business, and providing valuable word-of-mouth advertising. 

The secret sauce here is to keep communication clear and consistent, while continually demonstrating commitment to the client’s goals and needs. 

Example: A project manager decided to schedule weekly or bi-weekly client meetings to take the pressure off of them to check-in. They set designated checkpoints in the project to provide clients with project updates, address obstacles or concerns, and gather feedback. 

2. Increase Team Productivity and Efficiency to Meet the Project Timeline

Productivity and efficiency make or break project success. Everyone wants to be on the winning end of this power duo, meaning it’s critical to acknowledge the impact on a project's timeline, budget, and overall success. 

Increasing productivity and efficiency is all about streamlining processes and reducing redundancies. This is a notorious pain point for larger project teams. 

Example: Implement project management software, regardless of the size of the team or scope of the project. A great PM tool helps to delegate tasks effectively and monitor progress in real time. 

Along with this, don’t wait until the end of a project to offer performance reviews. These reviews are essential to employee motivation and a positive workplace culture.

Here are a few project manager performance review examples that can apply at every stage of the project. 

• “As of mid-project, effective task delegation has been a strong point, leading to hitting every objective on time and exceeding expectations.”
• “The beginning of the project was rough, but proactive risk-identification and mitigation strategies have saved $2k in resources and kept the project on track”
• “Stakeholder management on this project has been exceptional. Expectations have been identified, and the team has built successful relationships with project decision-makers.”

Teams don’t perform well with blinders on. Ask for feedback from team members, communicate, and set realistic expectations as the project progresses. 

3. Align Priorities and Objectives with Expectations of Project Stakeholders

Who are the primary stakeholders in this project, and how are you aligning with their priorities? 

Depending on the project, key stakeholders can be internal or external and can include everyone from team members or senior management to clients and investors with deep pockets. Identifying stakeholder expectations, and priorities and managing the project to provide anticipated project deliverables is key to keeping stakeholders satisfied. 

Example: A team conducted monthly workshops for stakeholders to review and refine project goals. These sessions were about more than evaluating project progress. 

This was an opportunity to foster open communication and collaboration with stakeholders, ensuring everyone is engaged and informed throughout the project lifecycle. 

4. Realize Project Targets within Allocated Resources 

Projects are limited by their allocated resources. It’s the responsibility of project managers to make informed decisions to ensure project targets are met within the constraints of budget, time, and other resources. 

Accomplishing this goal is the hallmark of successful project management. 

Achieving it requires precision planning and strategic resource allocation. 

Example: A website redesign project has a budget of $35,000 and a maximum timeline of two months. 

Sounds like a piece of cake, right? 

Achieving this requires optimized workflows and streamlined internal processes that maximize efficiency. This needs to include specialized outsourced tasks, such as graphic design. Adding external players to the project complicates the process because now, the project is dependent on multiple contributors. 

Staying within budget constraints could look like allocating $15,000 for back and front-end development, plus $5,000 for in-house content creation. 

The graphic design budget is strictly confined to $10,000, with $3,000 allocated to cover the costs of meetings, consultations, and project management tools. This leaves $2,000 as a cushion for budget overruns for unforeseen and last-minute expenses. 

Staying focused, but flexible, on resource allocations allows successful project managers to confidently meet their targets, with respect to project limitations. 

5. Align with Company Priorities and Spearhead Related Initiatives 

What do projects that closely align with organizational goals all have in common?

They succeed. 

When the objectives complement the company’s strategy and vision, there’s an automatic ripple effect traveling down through the project chain. 

Efficiency.

Innovation.

Lucrative outcomes.

These are the results of understanding the company’s goals and identifying how the current project fits in the bigger picture. 

Example: A company has a goal to reduce their customer churn by 20 percent by the end of Q4. The project team considered this goal and the company’s overarching priorities. 

They developed a customer onboarding process focused on retention. 

This included research and analysis into customer behaviors and churn data to better understand the biggest pain points in the current customer onboarding process. 

Content strategy was used to further align with the company’s priorities, and performance metrics were developed to measure the journey from customer introduction to first meaningful interaction. 

As a result, the company was able to reduce its churn rate by 14 percent in just the first quarter of the project. Keeping the priorities aligned with company goals, enables them to spearhead new initiatives to not only meet the project goal but put them on the trajectory to exceed them. 

6. Uncover Techniques to Improve Team Connectivity on Project Objectives

Successful project managers know the secret of successful projects – a well-connected team. The team is the backbone of the project. When connections are strong, the environment is one of collaboration, fewer misunderstandings, and workflow efficiency. 

Connectivity and communication are interdependent in team environments. 

When team members feel connected, they’re more open to sharing ideas and overcoming challenges together. Building this type of connected team environment requires nurturing an environment of a shared mission, trust, and openness. 

Example: A hybrid team of in-person and remote members working on a big project was suffering from a drop in morale. It wasn’t the pressure that was getting to them as much as it was the breakdown in communication. 

To enhance connectivity among the team, the project manager implemented several initiatives. 

• End of Week Coffee Break: Team members were encouraged to attend a casual video call to discuss – wait for it – non-work related topics, promoting a sense of connection and community. 
• Collaboration Days: Weekly or monthly brainstorming and skill-sharing sessions providing team members with the opportunity to shine outside of their usual roles.
• Team Building Exercises: Sure, it might sound cliche, but only because it works. Industry trivia challenges and virtual escape rooms are just a few ideas this team used. 

A few initiatives were all it took to improve overall morale, boost trust and connectivity, and bust through the productivity bottlenecks the team was experiencing. 

7. Level Up Team Skills

Continual skill development is a core goal in project management. Keeping this as a target focus creates teams that are efficient and adaptable. Every member of a project member team should be assessed for growth opportunities, and feel supported in their professional growth. 

Example: To improve the team’s capabilities, an ongoing training program was implemented. 

The training program included certification opportunities for team members who were ready to level up their industry certifications. Internal workshops and learning incentives were also provided. 

To go along with this, team members were assigned projects where they could directly apply their new knowledge and skills. 

8. Encourage Continual Improvement 

Stagnation doesn’t have a spot in successful project management. Developing and supporting a culture of continual improvement is what keeps stagnation on the sidelines. 

Team members and managers can grow through the challenges and success of a project, lending to a continual cycle of growth and professional refinement. 

Growth isn’t always easy. Sometimes, it sucks. 

But, holding team members accountable for their contributions, outcomes, and role in team dynamics delivers better results over time. 

Example: An organization was experiencing major pain points with a few team members during an extra challenging project. 

Rather than waiting to the end for a review, or pulling the team members aside to demoralize them, a different approach was taken. 

The team conducted a root cause analysis to better understand the root causes of the problem. Based on this, they developed actionable recommendations to address each challenge and performance gap. These actions were directly incorporated into ongoing projects, with regular check-ins on progress. 

9. Foster a Culture of Adaptability (Even When the Project Scope Changes) 

In project management, adaptability is non-negotiable. This is how teams navigate unforeseen challenges, and shift priorities to meet evolving project or stakeholder needs. Fostering a culture of flexibility means teams respond proactively rather than being completely derailed by challenges. 

Example: At the onset of a project, team leaders decided to implement a contingency plan and find ways to support adaptability. 

This included:

• Breaking the project up into smaller sprints, with regular reviews
• Encouraging open communication
• Involving team members in cross-training activities to avoid over-reliance on any one team member
• Contingency plans for sourcing materials and services 

As they say, an ounce of prevention keeps teams agile and adaptable. 

10. Risk Management for High Impact Projects

Risk management in project management involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks at every stage. This applies to the entire scope of the project, including the timeline, budget, performance, and quality of output. 

Through risk management, the project managers reduce uncertainties and avoid costly disruptions to the project. 

Example: An organization working on software development for a client identified the potential for scope creep early on. This client had a reputation for requesting additional features beyond the initial scope of the project. 

The team implemented a change of request process, which outlined the formal process for making changes and how they would be implemented. 

SMART Goals Framework

It’s time to get SMART about project management. In this case, it means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals – or, SMART. The SMART goals for project managers are game-changers that streamline the goal-setting process. 

Use SMART goals effectively and the result is a more comprehensive project plan, leading to more accurate measurements of its effectiveness. 

• Specific: Defining Clear Targets – Generic goals don’t exist in successful project management. Unclear goals are hard to track, and they muck up the system. Specific, clear SMART objectives and goals are what achieve results.  
• Measurable: Establishing Metrics for Success – Goals need to be measurable. Otherwise, you can never approach the project with complete certainty that you’re on track. Measurable goals can be as simple as a list of tasks completed, or a measure of how resources have been allocated for each project task. 
• Achievable: Setting Realistic Goals – It’s great to dream big, but project goals are best enjoyed in bite-size chunks. Impossible targets are demoralizing and can feel unattainable. Keep the goals at an achievable, realistic level – the goalpost can always be moved later. 
• Relevant: Ensuring Alignment with Broader SMART Objectives – Great project managers know that goals need to be relevant and that the definition of “relevant” can sometimes change. Reassess goals at multiple points in the project, and adapt as necessary. 
• Time-bound: Setting Deadlines - Goals should always be time-bound. Without this structure, projects can linger on indefinitely and become a drain on resources.

SMART framework in project management takes abstract ideas and transforms them into solid plans, ensuring focus, clarity, and accountability among the team. 

Project Managers, Are You Ready?

Successful project management goal setting doesn’t require superhuman abilities. 

It does require that project leaders are in tune with what their project and their team needs. 

What is the goal of project management?

Through thoughtful planning and taking the time to define clear goals, everyone succeeds. Goals are your guide to move the project to completion with successful outcomes.

Are you ready to drive your team to success? Here are a few key takeaways to remember for future projects. 

Key Takeaway

• Effective goals drive success: Create thoughtful and clearly defined goals to ensure project success. Think of goals as a strategic roadmap. 
• Goals vs objectives – know the difference: Goals and objectives are both important but play different roles. Goals are the big picture, while objectives are smaller, actionable steps. 
• Adaptability is key to overcoming challenges: Being adaptable means teams can pivot painlessly in response to unforeseen obstacles and disruptions. Having a standardized process in place is great, but adaptability is also essential.
• Risk management protects project outcomes: Proactively identify and assess potential risks for smoother project execution. 
• Measure success with clear benchmarks: Clear goals for project management make it easy to set clear benchmarks for progress and accountability. This is how project managers ensure their team is delivering measurable results throughout entire projects.

Discover how your team can bust through goal setting, improve productivity, and deliver exceptional results with ScaleTime’s Project Management Checklist. This is our guide to help your team tackle bottlenecks, embrace accountability, automate tasks, and more. Get your Project Management Checklist today.