How decision model goals & objectives translate to a schedule
/In this example the team needed to determine which market segment to target for a new product. The choice of segment would then drive customer selection and eventual product definition around the driving requirements of the tier 1 customer in the selected segment. They believed that 80% of the segment's requirements would be captured from this driving customer, so selection of the right segment and customer was critical to realizing the project goals.
Example (below)) of how the team prioritized their business objectives with respect to the project goal. Notice the driving objectives were the design win with the tier 1 customer, gaining >50% share, and reaching their 80% reuse goal. These weighted objectives would influence their target market selection.
The Goal is a statement of what is trying to be achieved. The Objectives are a list of outcomes that should be achieved to meet the Goal. The Alternatives are the means to fulfilling the Objectives which should then drive Goal achievement. More on this subject at Decision model structure.
decision model goal and objectives
They had five potential market segment alternatives (above) to consider for their product. Each segment had unique requirements that would have taken them in different directions with respect to the product design and underlying architecture. They only had resources to do one segment at a time. They needed to pick one.
decision alternatives
Using the weighted objectives, they ranked each segment. The Enterprise segment was the clear winner. Based on their objectives, they used the decision model to determine that this segment would contribute most to goal achievement.
Once the segment was selected they developed a macro plan. Notice in the summary schedule (above) how the project goal statement translated from the decision model to the project schedule. The decision model "objectives" where developed further into the project's Doneness Criteria (i.e. the statement of what it meant to be complete with the project or in this case "7x ROI realized" and "80% of the new product was reused" and "Design win with tier 1 customer closed").
the resulting macro plan
Instead of Objectives driving the goal they identified the customer-focused-milestones or integration points in the project where major cross-functional deliverables came together to produce a measurable result. Much like the Objectives did in the decision model, for example, "prototype concept proved" and "product yield & volume targets achieved."
You can also see some of the decision model objectives reflected in the milestones such as "product integrated & validated in customer system" which relates to the business objective called "gain design win with tier 1 customer." Notice that the project schedule was pulled-in to a date very close to their 1-year ROI target. They would later use the refresh planning processto gain more schedule acceleration.