As a very broad generalization, it could be stated the goal of expended effort is a successful outcome.  Or stated another way, we do stuff with the expectation of a positive result.

In order to determine if an outcome is successful we need to have a clear understanding of our expectation.  This starts with a statement of vision, overall objective and specific goal.

(Or some combination of these concepts depending on the level of detail and specificity needed to define a measurable outcome.)

An example of a high level vision statement could be “Do the right thing at the right time in an efficient way adhering to a high quality standard”

Defining the outcomes

From the vision, the first step is to define the expected outcome in a bit more detail.  The above vision example is too generic for this on it’s own so a more detailed objective and/or specific goal statement  is needed first.

We could define goal for a specific activity in more detail:

-the right thing is a service that conforms to our mission statement.

– the right time could be defined as “just in time” delivery, that is not in advance and not when it is no longer needed.

-efficiency could be defined as a time period associated with the service, for example completed in no more than a hour (this would be service specific).

-and finally the quality objective could be no defects noted by the service recipient within 24 hours of reciept.

Measuring the outcomes

In the above example, we can determine if the work performed was in our service catalogue, when it was delivered and how long it took and after 24 hours we can check if any defects were reported. It is very measurable.

Checking Your Performance

Define the outcomes associated with the vision, objectives and the goals making sure to include how you would determine if these outcomes were sucessful.

Measure the outcomes and determine how well you performed.