Understanding Objectives

At their core, objectives define what we are trying to achieve and why it matters. A well-crafted objective acts as the foundation for all planning, measurement, and governance activities that follow. It provides focus, alignment, and direction.

In SPARA, objectives are more than mission statements — they are strategic anchors. They:

• Articulate a desired outcome, not just an activity

• Provide context for success — the reason this objective exists

• Enable traceability between strategy, governance, and operational action

✅ Example:

“Improve cross-functional collaboration to reduce service handoff delays and improve resolution consistency.”

This objective is outcome-driven, clearly explains its value, and invites structured performance design. It’s not a wish — it’s a performance mandate.

To avoid dilution, it’s equally important to be clear on what objectives are not:

• They are not tasks or deliverables (“implement a new ticketing system” is not an objective — it’s an action).

• They are not business-as-usual performance levels (“maintain uptime of 99%” is a baseline, not an objective).

• They are not vague aspirations (“be the best in class” is inspirational, not operational).

Confusing objectives with tactics or slogans leads to broken chains. If we don’t start with clear intent, nothing that follows can be reliably measured.

To guide teams in crafting powerful objectives, SPARA defines the following guardrails:

1. Be Outcome-Oriented
Objectives should describe the change you seek to create or the state you want to reach — not the steps to get there.

2. Make the Value Explicit
Always include the ‘why’. If the benefit isn’t clear, the objective won’t inspire action or funding.

3. Avoid Multi-Headed Statements
Each objective should describe one core outcome. Avoid long conjunctions like “and,” “while,” “but also.”

4. Keep It Contextual
Ground the objective in a specific part of the organisation, service, or programme. Don’t make it too abstract.

5. Validate Through Challenge
Test your objective with governance or leadership: “If we achieve this, what will be different? Will anyone care?”

Objectives serve as the foundation for a variety of performance and governance activities. Common touchpoints include:

• Strategy Formulation: Ensuring service or programme goals support business direction

• Performance Planning: Designing KPIs, CSFs, and initiatives that align to objectives

• Governance Dashboards: Structuring oversight around outcome-driven indicators

• Continuous Improvement: Identifying gaps in capability or performance against declared goals

This shows why the quality of objectives directly shapes the quality of decisions, investment, and oversight.

Different levels of the organisation use different types of objectives. SPARA recognises three primary categories:

Strategic Objectives

High-level aspirations that align with the organisation’s vision or transformation goals.

• Example: “Establish a data-driven culture to support proactive service improvement.”

Tactical Objectives

Service, function, or programme-level goals that enable strategy execution.

• Example: “Improve incident trend visibility across teams through consolidated reporting.”

Operational Objectives

Day-to-day performance goals tied to repeatable service activities.

• Example: “Reduce average change request cycle time to under 7 working days.”

• “Increase the percentage of changes with successful business outcomes through better stakeholder engagement.”

• “Strengthen third-party assurance to reduce audit findings and risk exposure.”

• “Reduce service onboarding complexity to improve partner satisfaction and reduce lead time.”

Each of these:

• Has a clear outcome focus

• Is contextually anchored

• Suggests measurable follow-up

Without clear, compelling objectives:

• CSFs become guesswork

• KPIs become scattered

• Metrics become irrelevant

Getting this first layer right is essential. A well-defined objective acts like a compass: it doesn’t tell you how to walk the path — but it ensures everyone is walking in the right direction.

The next chapter explores how we bridge intent to enablers through Critical Success Factors (CSFs) — the next link in the Measurement Chain.