2.9.4: Defining Success Before the Work Begins

Defining Success Before the Work Begins

A C-Bay Planning Guide for Milestone 1

Introduction: Why You Must Define Success Before You Start the Work

Every project wants “success”—but without agreement on what that means, it’s just a buzzword. Your first responsibility as a planner is to create a shared, measurable, client-aligned definition of success before planning proceeds.

In professional planning, success criteria must be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Agreed upon
• Relevant to the client
• Verifiable at the end of the phase

For UCMS, your job in Milestone 1 is to define success for the planning phase only, not for the final system implementation.

What Are Success Criteria?

Success criteria are observable, measurable conditions that confirm a project phase is complete and accepted. They:

• Set expectations
• Provide accountability
• Prevent scope creep
• Allow verification of progress

They answer:

“What must be true at the end of this work for everyone to say, ‘We did what we came here to do’?”

What Success Criteria Are Not

• Vague statements (“meet client goals”)
• General hopes (“deliver a great system”)
• Tasks (“complete the project”)
• Unmeasurable claims (“achieve satisfaction”)

If criteria cannot be verified or signed off by a stakeholder, they don’t belong in the charter.

C-Bay’s Guidelines for Strong Success Criteria

1. Be Specific – Name the deliverable or outcome clearly
2. Be Measurable – Progress must be objectively verifiable
3. Be Time-Bounded – Tie to a milestone or deadline
4. Be Client-Aligned – Written from the client’s perspective
5. Be Phase-Appropriate – Focus on this phase only

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Strong vs. Weak Examples

Weak	Strong
“UCMS is satisfied with the planning process.”	“All UCMS stakeholders have reviewed and signed the final planning package by April 30.”
“Planning is completed.”	“Project Charter, Stakeholder Map, and Requirements Matrix are completed, validated, and submitted to UCMS leadership.”
“The team agrees on project goals.”	“All success criteria are reviewed and approved by C-Bay PMO and UCMS Sponsor before the milestone concludes.”

Sample UCMS Success Criteria for Milestone 1

• Project Charter submitted, reviewed, and approved by the UCMS Dean and CIO
• Stakeholder map validated by both C-Bay and UCMS leadership
• Scope boundaries, constraints, and risks documented and signed off
• Preliminary planning schedule submitted with target dates for key deliverables
• All planning materials uploaded to the shared repository by milestone close

Tip: Include 3–5 criteria. More than five clutters focus; fewer than three weakens accountability.

How to Write Them

1. Review the client’s expectations
2. Think like the sponsor
3. List your major outputs for this phase
4. Make each outcome testable
5. Use professional, neutral language

Common Mistakes

• Using vague or hedged language (“should be,” “ideally”)
• Including future-phase goals
• Writing from your perspective instead of the client’s