Comprehensive goal management through the use of an integrated software application

• US 20060184409A1
• Filed: 02/15/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bangel, Matthew J., Martin, James A. Jr., Mullins, Renee C., Hicks, Scott D., Rauch, Diane C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,827,050 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for managing goals. A goal to be achieved by a goal-setter is defined. At least one action to be completed is defined. The at least one action is associated with an achievement of the goal by the goal-setter. One or more goal-setter attributes associated with the goal-setter are specified. At least one of the one or more goal-setter attributes is associated with the goal to facilitate managing the goal.

Claims

1. A method of managing a goal in a computing environment, said method comprising:

defining a goal to be achieved by a goal-setter;

defining at least one action to be completed, said at least one action being associated with an achievement of said goal by said goal-setter;

specifying one or more goal-setter attributes associated with said goal-setter; and

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said goal, thereby facilitating said managing said goal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reviewing one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said associating at least one goal-setter attribute with said goal; and

responsive to said reviewing, maintaining goal management information, said goal management information comprising at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said one or more associations,

wherein said maintaining comprises at least one of adding to, deleting from and modifying said goal management information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprise at least one of one or more values, one or more strengths, one or more weaknesses, and one or more inspirations,

wherein said one or more values comprise one or more principles espoused by said goal-setter and form one or more bases of conduct of said goal-setter,

wherein said one or more strengths comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that facilitate said achievement of said goal,

wherein said one or more weaknesses comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that hinder said achievement of said goal, and

wherein said one or more inspirations comprise one or more sources that inspire said goal-setter to achieve said goal.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining a plurality of goals to be achieved by said goal-setter, said plurality of goals including said goal;

defining a plurality of actions to be completed, said plurality of actions including said at least one action, and said plurality of actions being associated with an achievement of said plurality of said goals by said goal-setter;

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with each goal of said plurality of goals.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprises a plurality of values of said goal-setter, said method further comprising associating one or more values of said plurality of values with each goal of said plurality of goals, said plurality of values being a plurality of principles espoused by said goal-setter and forming bases of conduct of said goal-setter.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

assigning a plurality of ranking levels to said plurality of values, said plurality of values being ordered according to said plurality of ranking levels to indicate a relative importance of each value of said plurality of values; and

providing an optimal distribution of said plurality of goals among said plurality of values, wherein said ranking levels are employed to determine said optimal distribution.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said providing said optimal distribution comprises:

associating a set of one or more goals of said plurality of goals with a value of said plurality of values, said value being associated with a ranking level of said plurality of ranking levels,

wherein a count of goals in said set is substantially in proportion to said ranking level.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising defining a plurality of goal attributes associated with said plurality of goals, said plurality of goal attributes comprising at least one of one or more classifications, one or more priorities, and one or more time frames,

wherein a classification of said one or more classifications classifies a goal of said plurality of goals according to at least one of a category and a type, said category and said type being defined by said goal-setter,

wherein a priority of said one or more priorities indicates a relative urgency of achieving a goal of said plurality of goals, and

wherein a time frame of said one or more time frames indicates a period of time during which a goal of said plurality of goals is to be achieved.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising displaying at least one of:

said plurality of goals grouped by said one or more goal attributes; and

said plurality of goals grouped by said one or more goal-setter attributes.

10. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

displaying a goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes and a frequency associated with said goal-setter attribute,

wherein said frequency indicates a number of times said goal-setter attribute is associated with a goal of said plurality of goals via said associating said at least one goal-setter attribute.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a goal identifier; and

associating said goal identifier with said goal and with said at least one action, thereby associating said at least one action with said goal.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining one or more sub-goals associated with said goal, said one or more sub-goals being associated with one or more actions of said at least one action, and said one or more actions being associated with one or more achievements of said one or more sub-goals by said goal-setter; and

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said one or more sub-goals.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing a goal identifier;

providing one or more sub-goal identifiers;

associating said goal identifier with said goal and with said one or more sub-goals, thereby associating said one or more sub-goals with said goal;

associating said one or more sub-goal identifiers with said one or more sub-goals and with said one or more actions, thereby associating said one or more actions with said one or more sub-goals; and

associating, via an inheritance of said goal identifier by said one or more actions, said one or more actions with said goal.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said goal-setter is selected from the group consisting of an individual person, a team of people, an organization, and a business.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising employing a template to facilitate defining said goal,

wherein said employing said template comprises employing at least one of another goal defined prior to said goal, a template generated by said goal-setter, and a template generated by an expert in a subject associated with said goal.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

exporting, to a software application, information associated with at least one of said goal and said at least one action,

wherein said software application does not implement said method.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

importing, from a software application, information to be associated with at least one of said goal and said at least one action,

wherein said software application does not implement said method.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one of a target date associated with said achievement of said goal and a due date associated with a completion of an action of said at least one action; and

automatically receiving, by said goal-setter, a message associated with at least one of said goal and said action, said message automatically received in response to said target date or said due date being impending or having passed.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one of a target date associated with said achievement of said goal and a due date associated with a completion of an action of said at least one action;

associating a third party to said goal, said third party to be a mentor to said goal-setter; and

automatically receiving, by said third party, a message associated with at least one of said goal and said action, said message automatically received in response to at least one of said achievement of said goal, said completion of said action, said target date or said due date being impending, said target date or said due date having passed, and said target date or said due date being modified.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

employing a user interface providing functionality associated with said defining said goal, said defining said at least one action, said defining said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said associating said at least one goal-setter attribute.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

displaying a screen show employing one or more multimedia files associated with said one or more goal-setter attributes;

generating and maintaining an electronic journal, said journal comprising information associated with said achievement of said goal and progress towards said achievement of said goal;

generating and maintaining a goal idea document including one or more ideas associated with an additional goal, said additional goal being a goal to be defined in addition to said goal; and

providing one or more views to said goal-setter, said one or more views including information associated with at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said associating,

wherein said providing facilitates maintaining said information.

22. A system of managing a goal in a computing environment, said system comprising:

means for defining a goal to be achieved by a goal-setter;

means for defining at least one action to be completed, said at least one action being associated with an achievement of said goal by said goal-setter;

means for specifying one or more goal-setter attributes associated with said goal-setter; and

means for associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said goal, thereby facilitating said managing said goal.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for reviewing one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said means for associating; and

means for maintaining, responsive to said reviewing, goal management information, said goal management information comprising at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal,

wherein said maintaining comprises at least one of adding to, deleting from and modifying said goal management information.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprise at least one of one or more values, one or more strengths, one or more weaknesses, and one or more inspirations,

wherein said one or more values comprise one or more principles espoused by said goal-setter and form one or more bases of conduct of said goal-setter,

wherein said one or more strengths comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that facilitate said achievement of said goal,

wherein said one or more weaknesses comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that hinder said achievement of said goal, and

wherein said one or more inspirations comprise one or more sources that inspire said goal-setter to achieve said goal.

25. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for defining a plurality of goals to be achieved by said goal-setter, said plurality of goals including said goal;

means for defining a plurality of actions to be completed, said plurality of actions including said at least one action, and said plurality of actions being associated with an achievement of said plurality of said goals by said goal-setter;

means for associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with each goal of said plurality of goals.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprises a plurality of values of said goal-setter, said system further comprising means for associating one or more values of said plurality of values with each goal of said plurality of goals, said plurality of values being a plurality of principles espoused by said goal-setter and forming bases of conduct of said goal-setter.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

means for assigning a plurality of ranking levels to said plurality of values, said plurality of values being ordered according to said plurality of ranking levels to indicate a relative importance of each value of said plurality of values; and

means for providing an optimal distribution of said plurality of goals among said plurality of values, wherein said ranking levels are employed to determine said optimal distribution.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said providing said optimal distribution comprises:

means for associating a set of one or more goals of said plurality of goals with a value of said plurality of values, said value being associated with a ranking level of said plurality of ranking levels,

wherein a count of goals in said set is substantially in proportion to said ranking level.

29. The system of claim 25, further comprising means for defining a plurality of goal attributes associated with said plurality of goals, said plurality of goal attributes comprising at least one of one or more classifications, one or more priorities, and one or more time frames,

wherein a classification of said one or more classifications classifies a goal of said plurality of goals according to at least one of a category and a type, said category and said type being defined by said goal-setter,

wherein a priority of said one or more priorities indicates a relative urgency of achieving a goal of said plurality of goals, and

wherein a time frame of said one or more time frames indicates a period of time during which a goal of said plurality of goals is to be achieved.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising means for displaying at least one of:

said plurality of goals grouped by said one or more goal attributes; and

said plurality of goals grouped by said one or more goal-setter attributes.

31. The system of claim 25, further comprising:

means for displaying a goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes and a frequency associated with said goal-setter attribute,

wherein said frequency indicates a number of times said goal-setter attribute is associated with a goal of said plurality of goals via said associating said at least one goal-setter attribute.

32. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for providing a goal identifier; and

means for associating said goal identifier with said goal and with said at least one action, thereby associating said at least one action with said goal.

33. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for defining one or more sub-goals associated with said goal, said one or more sub-goals being associated with one or more actions of said at least one action, and said one or more actions being associated with one or more achievements of said one or more sub-goals by said goal-setter; and

means for associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said one or more sub-goals.

34. The system of claim 33, further comprising:

means for providing a goal identifier;

means for providing one or more sub-goal identifiers;

means for associating said goal identifier with said goal and with said one or more sub-goals, thereby associating said one or more sub-goals with said goal;

means for associating said one or more sub-goal identifiers with said one or more sub-goals, and with said one or more actions, thereby associating said one or more actions with said one or more sub-goals; and

means for associating, via an inheritance of said goal identifier by said one or more actions, said one or more actions with said goal.

35. The system of claim 22, wherein said goal-setter is selected from the group consisting of an individual person, a team of people, an organization, and a business.

36. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for employing a template to facilitate defining said goal,

wherein said employing said template comprises employing at least one of another goal defined prior to said goal, a template generated by said goal-setter, and a template generated by an expert in a subject associated with said goal.

37. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for exporting, to another system external to said system, information associated with at least one of said goal and said at least one action.

38. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for importing, from another system external to said system, information to be associated with at least one of said goal and said at least one action.

39. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for providing at least one of a target date associated with said achievement of said goal and a due date associated with a completion of an action of said at least one action; and

means for automatically receiving, by said goal-setter, a message associated with at least one of said goal and said action, said message automatically received in response to said target date or said due date being impending or having passed.

40. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for providing at least one of a target date associated with said achievement of said goal and a due date associated with a completion of an action of said at least one action;

means for associating a third party to said goal, said third party to be a mentor to said goal-setter; and

means for automatically receiving, by said third party, a message associated with at least one of said goal and said action, said message automatically received in response to at least one of said achievement of said goal, said completion of said action, said target date or said due date being impending, said target date or said due date having passed, and said target date or said due date being modified.

41. The system of claim 22, further comprising:

means for employing a user interface providing functionality associated with said defining said goal, said defining said at least one action, said defining said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said associating said at least one goal-setter attributes.

42. The system of claim 22, further comprising at least one of:

means for displaying a screen show employing one or more multimedia files associated with said one or more goal-setter attributes;

means for generating and means for maintaining an electronic journal, said journal comprising information associated with said achievement of said goal and progress towards said achievement of said goal;

means for generating and means for maintaining a goal idea document including one or more ideas associated with an additional goal, said additional goal being a goal to be defined in addition to said goal; and

means for providing one or more views to said goal-setter, said one or more views including information associated with at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said associating,

wherein said providing facilitates maintaining said information.

43. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of managing a goal in a computing environment, said method comprising:

defining a goal to be achieved by a goal-setter;

defining at least one action to be completed, said at least one action being associated with an achievement of said goal by said goal-setter;

specifying one or more goal-setter attributes associated with said goal-setter; and

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said goal, thereby facilitating said managing said goal.

44. The at least one program storage device of claim 43, said method further comprising:

reviewing one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said associating at least one goal-setter attribute with said goal; and

responsive to said reviewing, maintaining goal management information, said goal management information comprising at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said one or more associations,

wherein said maintaining comprises at least one of adding to, deleting from and modifying said goal management information.

45. The at least one program storage device of claim 43, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprise at least one of one or more values, one or more strengths, one or more weaknesses, and one or more inspirations,

wherein said one or more values comprise one or more principles espoused by said goal-setter and form one or more bases of conduct of said goal-setter,

wherein said one or more strengths comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that facilitate said achievement of said goal,

wherein said one or more weaknesses comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that hinder said achievement of said goal, and

wherein said one or more inspirations comprise one or more sources that inspire said goal-setter to achieve said goal.

46. The at least one program storage device of claim 43, said method further comprising:

defining a plurality of goals to be achieved by said goal-setter, said plurality of goals including said goal;

defining a plurality of actions to be completed, said plurality of actions including said at least one action, and said plurality of actions being associated with an achievement of said plurality of said goals by said goal-setter;

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with each goal of said plurality of goals.

47. The at least one program storage device of claim 46, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprises a plurality of values of said goal-setter, said method further comprising associating one or more values of said plurality of values with each goal of said plurality of goals, said plurality of values being a plurality of principles espoused by said goal-setter and forming bases of conduct of said goal-setter.

48. The at least one program storage device of claim 47, said method further comprising:

assigning a plurality of ranking levels to said plurality of values, said plurality of values being ordered according to said plurality of ranking levels to indicate a relative importance of each value of said plurality of values; and

providing an optimal distribution of said plurality of goals among said plurality of values, wherein said ranking levels are employed to determine said optimal distribution.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein said providing said optimal distribution comprises:

associating a set of one or more goals of said plurality of goals with a value of said plurality of values, said value being associated with a ranking level of said plurality of ranking levels,

wherein a count of goals in said set is substantially in proportion to said ranking level.

50. A method for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing a process of managing a goal in a computing environment, said process comprising:

defining a goal to be achieved by a goal-setter;

defining at least one action to be completed, said at least one action being associated with an achievement of said goal by said goal-setter;

specifying one or more goal-setter attributes associated with said goal-setter; and

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with said goal, thereby facilitating said managing said goal.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein said process further comprises:

reviewing one or more associations between said at least one goal-setter attribute and said goal, said one or more associations being provided by said associating at least one goal-setter attribute with said goal; and

responsive to said reviewing, maintaining goal management information, said goal management information comprising at least one of said goal, said at least one action, said one or more goal-setter attributes, and said one or more associations,

wherein said maintaining comprises at least one of adding to, deleting from and modifying said goal management information.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprise at least one of one or more values, one or more strengths, one or more weaknesses, and one or more inspirations,

wherein said one or more values comprise one or more principles espoused by said goal-setter and form one or more bases of conduct of said goal-setter,

wherein said one or more strengths comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that facilitate said achievement of said goal,

wherein said one or more weaknesses comprise one or more characteristics of said goal-setter that hinder said achievement of said goal, and

wherein said one or more inspirations comprise one or more sources that inspire said goal-setter to achieve said goal.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein said process further comprises:

defining a plurality of goals to be achieved by said goal-setter, said plurality of goals including said goal;

defining a plurality of actions to be completed, said plurality of actions including said at least one action, and said plurality of actions being associated with an achievement of said plurality of said goals by said goal-setter;

associating at least one goal-setter attribute of said one or more goal-setter attributes with each goal of said plurality of goals.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein said one or more goal-setter attributes comprises a plurality of values of said goal-setter, said method further comprising associating one or more values of said plurality of values with each goal of said plurality of goals, said plurality of values being a plurality of principles espoused by said goal-setter and forming bases of conduct of said goal-setter.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein said process further comprises:

assigning a plurality of ranking levels to said plurality of values, said plurality of values being ordered according to said plurality of ranking levels to indicate a relative importance of each value of said plurality of values; and

providing an optimal distribution of said plurality of goals among said plurality of values, wherein said ranking levels are employed to determine said optimal distribution.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein said providing said optimal distribution comprises:

associating a set of one or more goals of said plurality of goals with a value of said plurality of values, said value being associated with a ranking level of said plurality of ranking levels,

wherein a count of goals in said set is substantially in proportion to said ranking level.