A service objective is a structured way to express the goals of your project. The process of creating a commonly understood and agreed upon service objective often reveals differences in thinking, different assumptions, and conflicting perspectives that all must be discussed and resolved before the service objective statement is complete.

Clear statement of project beneficiaries and goals. Once the group has developed a vision or mission statement, the service objective sets a course for them to reach specific goals. Developing a service objective is both an individual and a group activity.

Reaching agreement on intent. This exercise provides a framework for discussing the similarities or differences in team members' intentions or expectations. You can use it to determine if you are expressing the same intent in different ways or if members of the group have different objectives in mind for the project.

Developing common language. Once a common intent is agreed to, expressing that intent in a common language increases the likelihood that group members will talk about the project in the same terms to people who are outside of the group, such as agency colleagues and decision-makers.

Creating a foundation for future action. The service objective provides a powerful reminder about key goals that each member can work toward when completing his or her specific tasks.

Agreeing too soon. Often people hear what they expect to hear when talking about broad project objectives. Failure to explore the underlying intent of each participant can lead to a service objective that is not really a shared understanding, but just a placeholder for each person's individual ideas. Beware of too-quick agreement and encourage debate and discussion before adopting a service objective.

How to create a service objective using a "Madlib" exercise

A Madlib is a fill-in-the-blanks sentence that we often use to generate a service objective statement. The sentence we use is this:

Our service objective is to provide (who) with (what) that allows them to (action) so that (outcomes).

This format forces the group to specify who the project is designed to help, how it will help them do something specific, and how that specific action will result in something of value. When all the blanks are filled in, a service objective emerges. It usually takes many iterations before a group is satisfied that they understand and agree on the objective. The following steps will take you through the process: