Checklist: Business Goal
This checklist helps make sure that an individual Business Goal, and Business Goal Model are well-formed and relevant.
CollapseRelationships  
CollapseCheck Items  
ExpandDo all Business Systems have defined goals  
Business systems represent functional domains in a business, each functional domain should be guided by goals. Business system goals can either be unique to the system or sub-goals of goals defined for the business as a whole. There will usually be a parallel decomposition of goals and business systems with each system having it's own goals and inheriting goals from parent systems.
ExpandIs the goal related to competitive advantage  
Goals, in general, should encompass areas of competitive advantage and should be leading a business to expand on such advantages. Obviously some business goals are related more to the management of the business, but these should be outnumbered by those representing business competencies.
ExpandIs the name unique  
It is important to uniquely name goals so as to ensure that goals can be easily distinguished. It is also possible to use a hierarchical numbering system as a part of the goals name; for example (1) for the parent goals, (1.1), (1.2), etc. for sub-goals.
ExpandDoes the name reflect the intention of the goal  

The name of a goal should reflect its intention; while a goal has a description field it will most often be presented in reports and other material simply by its name.

ExpandIs the goal unambiguous  
Is the description of the goal unambiguous? All stakeholders should be able to agree not only on the validity of a goal but also its meaning and value.
ExpandAre KPIs included for all goals  
All goals should be supported by a set of Key Performance Indicators which describe the manner in which the business will measure success. A goal that has sub-goals can choose to not have explicit KPIs if its sub-goals have defined and measurable KPIs.
ExpandIs the change value consistent with the change kind  
When using the UML Profile for Business Modeling, each Business Goal has an associated change value (in lieu of a separate KPI) which should be consistent with the specified change kind.
ExpandIs the change value consistent with the metric  
When using the UML Profile for Business Modeling, each Business Goal has an associated change value (in lieu of a separate KPI) which should be consistent with the specified metric.
ExpandIs the change value measurable  
When using the UML Profile for Business Modeling, each Business Goal has an associated change value (in lieu of a separate KPI) which should be directly measurable.
ExpandIs the change by date realistic yet ambitious  
When using the UML Profile for Business Modeling, each Business Goal has an associated change date (in lieu of a separate KPI) which should be agreed to be reasonable for the change.
ExpandIs it clear how the goal contributes to any higher level goals it supports  
Each sub-goal should clearly support any higher-level goal. A parent goal can choose to not have associated KPIs if it is clear how all sub-goal KPIs can be combined to define its own measures.
ExpandIs there at least one business use case, or business process, that traces to the goal  
The primary mechanism for a business to enact its goals is through the execution of business processes. Business processes may be represented either directly using a process modeling tool, or may be represented using a Business Use Case (with the UML Profile for Business Modeling).
ExpandDoes the goal conflict with any other goals  
Goals should be validated to ensure they do not conflict; this is particularly important in a goal model where sub-goals may be modeled and maintained by different business organizations.
ExpandIs the goal traced to other goals to which it may contribute  
Goals may naturally form a hierarchy with goal/sub-goal relationships. It is also possible for a goal model to form more of a network or matrix with sub-goals contributing to more than one parent goal. Ensure that all such relationships are explicitly modeled.
ExpandIs the hierarchy of goals more than three to seven levels deep  

A goal model needs to be precise enough to be measurable and enactable; if you have less than three levels, you must verify whether these goals are concrete enough to be measurable. If more than seven, you may consider flattening the hierarchy.

ExpandIs the goal hierarchy reasonably balanced  
Do different sub-trees at the same level in the hierarchy have similar depth? If not, it may indicate that one area has received more attention than others.