Terms Behind The Letters
There is no clear consensus about what the five or seven keywords mean, or even what they are in any given situation. Typically accepted values are:
| Letter | Major Term | Minor Terms |
|---|---|---|
| S | Specific | Significant, Stretching, Simple |
| M | Meaningful, Motivational, Manageable | |
| A | Attainable | Appropriate, Achievable, Agreed, Assignable, Actionable, Adjustable, Ambitious, Aligned, Aspirational, Acceptable, Action-focused |
| R | Relevant | Result-Based, Results-oriented, Resourced, Resonant, Realistic |
| T | Timely | Time-oriented, Time framed, Timed, Time-based, Timeboxed, Time-bound, Time-Specific, Timetabled, Time limited, Trackable, Tangible |
| E | Evaluate | Ethical, Excitable, Enjoyable, Engaging, Ecological |
| R | Reevaluate | Rewarded, Reassess, Revisit, Recordable, Rewarding, Reaching |
| S | Satisfactory | Satisfies Strategic Vision |
Choosing certain combinations of these labels can cause duplication, such as selecting 'Attainable' and 'Realistic', or can cause significant overlapping as in combining 'Appropriate' and 'Relevant' for example. The term 'Agreed' is often used in management situations where buy-in from stakeholders is desirable (e.g. appraisal situations).
Read more about this topic: SMART Criteria
Famous quotes containing the words terms and/or letters:
“Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)
“My business is stanching blood and feeding fainting men; my post the open field between the bullet and the hospital. I sometimes discuss the application of a compress or a wisp of hay under a broken limb, but not the bearing and merits of a political movement. I make gruel—not speeches; I write letters home for wounded soldiers, not political addresses.”
—Clara Barton (1821–1912)