who created smart goals

SMART goals were created by George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company. He first outlined the SMART framework in 1981 in a paper titled "There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives." The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable (or Assignable), Relevant (or Realistic), and Time-bound. Doran developed this methodology to make business goals more meaningful and actionable, addressing the problem of diffuse and unclear objectives in organizations.