Goal Statement
From OpenAgile
A Goal is the idea which guides the overall work being done with OpenAgile. The implications of this include:
- an OpenAgile Team must be aware of their Goal (even if only in a broad sense) before they can form and begin working. (See information about forming a team.)
- an OpenAgile Team should have only one Goal.
- an OpenAgile Team should implement one metric which will give them a clear way of seeing their progress towards their Goal.
- all Value Drivers are related to the Goal.
A Goal Statement therefore is a statement which intends to describe the reason we are doing an effort. A Goal Statement may be in the form of a traditional Project Charter; it may be a simple, catchy on-liner; it may be defined with metrics or in any way that allows us to understand why we are working and where we need to go to deliver Value.
It is expected that our Cycle length is chosen so that at least five will be required to accomplish the goal (although it may be many more than that). The Goal Statement therefore gives us insight into the length of our Cycles although it may not be the only factor considered.
OpenAgile is a framework for helping us to achieve our Goal as effectively as possible. In OpenAgile, Goals can be lofty or practical, simple or complex, short or long term. It is natural for Goals to start broad and become more specific as we make progress. Having a Goal allows you to track progress, contextualize feedback, and ensure that the work you are doing is valuable.
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Example Goal Statements
A person is building a paper airplane; their Goal Statement may be:
My Goal is to create a paper airplane which flies farther than all competitors'.
Students of an audio recording classroom may write the following Goal Statement:
Our Goal is to increase our capacity to create, collaborate, learn, and earn. We will do this by:
- practicing and improving our individual productivity.
- practicing and improving our team interaction.
- practicing and improving our skills in the field.
- practicing and improving our ability to deliver value to our current and potential clients.
An oil company may write the following Goal Statement:
Our Goal is to:while maintaining current levels of production.
- reduce fresh water consumption by 10% each year for three years
- increase reclamation of disturbed land area by 100% each year for three years
- improve energy efficiency by 10% each year over three years
- reduce air emissions by 10% each year for three years
Changing the Goal
Changes to a Goal Statement can be accomplished through Consultative Decision-Making and should be considered during an Engagement Meeting.
An OpenAgile practicioner's broad Goal is to deliver Value to Stakeholders -- that doesn't change. Though there are three main causes for change to a Goal Statement.
Perhaps We Change
Our capacities develop and change as we work; so too does our definition of "done". Therefore our Goal Statement may change slightly as we make progress. A team will usually refine their Goal Statement so as to become either more specific and measurable or more broad and all-encompassing. Both tendencies are considered acceptable in OpenAgile.
Perhaps our Stakeholders' Values Change
Our stakeholders' perspective of value may change and thus we must accomodate that by redefining our Goal. The oil industry is currently facing an example of such change wherein their consumers' values are changing to accomodate new perspectives regarding the ecological of fossil fuels.
Perhaps our Stakeholders Change
If our team practices long enough, then we may witness a change in the demographics of our stakeholders: a significant change in demographics may cause us to redefine our Goal so as to accomodate the values of new customers. The record industry, for instance, is currently facing an extreme example of such a change as the values within their marketplace change from an old, well-known business model to a new, rapidly-changing paradigm. The cause of this shift is widely considered to be one of demographics: baby-boomers, for example, are still interested in purchasing compact discs from record stores or renting movies from their local retail/rental outlet while teenagers (a different sort of stakeholder with entirely different values) are not interested in those products.
