The Quality & SMART page is where Compass scores every objective against the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) and surfaces the patterns. It’s the answer to “are we writing good objectives?”.
What this page answers
What’s the overall quality of objectives? Which SMART dimensions are weakest? What kinds of quality issues come up most? Which segments are best and worst at objective-setting?
What’s on the page
Objective Quality Score Range
An area-range chart over time. The band shows min-to-max quality scores in each period; the line shows the average. Background bands colour the score zones:
0–5 — Poor / Fair
5–7 — Fair / Neutral
7–10 — Good / Excellent
A rising line means quality is improving; a wide band means objectives vary a lot in quality.
SMART Dimensions Analysis
A radar chart with five points — one for each SMART dimension. The values are the cohort averages on each:
S — Specific — Is the objective clear and unambiguous?
M — Measurable — Can success be quantified?
A — Achievable — Is it realistic?
R — Relevant — Does it tie to strategy?
T — Time-bound — Is there a clear deadline?
A balanced radar is healthy; a dent in one dimension shows where the firm is weakest. “Measurable” and “Time-bound” are commonly the weakest in firms that aren’t disciplined about objective-setting.
Quality Distribution
A donut chart binning objectives into quality categories. Mostly a sanity check — if 90% of objectives are “Excellent”, either you’re a goal-setting masterclass or the AI is being too generous.
Strategic Context Analysis
A radar chart of organisational performance across strategic dimensions. The dimensions are firm-specific and emerge from how objectives align to strategic plans.
Common Quality Issues
A list of the top quality flags Compass found across the cohort. Each entry shows count and a short description. Examples:
Missing deadline — No end date or clear time-bound element
No action plan — No specific actions / milestones
Resource constraints — Mentions resource limits that aren’t addressed
Lacks ambition — Objective is too easily achieved
The list is your “what to teach” priority.
Score Range Distribution
A column chart showing the count of objectives in each score bucket (one-point bands, from 0.0–0.9 up to 9.0–10.0). Useful for seeing the shape of the distribution beyond just an average.
Quality Matrix
A tabbed table (Department / Role / Location). For each segment:
Total objectives
Individual S / M / A / R / T scores
Average overall score
A “coaching focus” — Compass’s recommendation for what this segment most needs to improve
Scan the Avg column to find the segments needing the most help. In the card view the table is paginated — pop the card to fullscreen to see every segment at once.
Where the data comes from
Every signal here comes from the objective quality analysis job. Active and completed objectives are queued in the background, and Compass scores each one 1–10 overall with separate sub-scores for each SMART dimension. The page aggregates these per-objective scores into the cohort views.
Compass also produces a list of quality flags per objective (the quality issues) and a coaching-focus recommendation per segment.
How to read it
Start with the SMART radar. Which dimensions are weakest? That’s your training priority.
Then look at the Score Range chart. A tight distribution means consistent quality (good or bad); a wide distribution means variable practice — your training needs to standardise.
Common quality issues tell you the specifics. “Missing deadline” affecting 40% of objectives is a procedural fix; “lacks ambition” is a cultural one.
The Quality Matrix is your operational view. Identify the worst-scoring segment, look at its coaching focus, and roll out targeted training.
Tips
Quality scores aren’t about importance. A high-quality objective isn’t necessarily more important than a low-quality one — it’s just better written. Don’t deprioritise people whose objectives score low; coach them to write better ones.
The radar chart is the single most useful image on the page. Print it, show it in leadership meetings, use it to decide what training to invest in.
Re-score after intervention. If you’ve run an objective-setting workshop, look at this page 3 months later to see if the dimension scores have improved.
Empty page? If the quality job hasn’t run yet (or no objectives have been analysed), the page will show a notice and return early. Check the queue status banner on the Introduction page.