Template: Design Goals & Success Criteria Sheet

Purpose

To define what success means for a design project from the perspective of business, users, and the design team. This ensures that all parties measure outcomes, not just outputs.


Table – Goals & Success Criteria

SectionFieldDescriptionSample Entry
Business GoalsPrimary Business GoalCore objective“Increase SaaS demo sign-ups”
 Supporting GoalsSecondary aims“Improve investor perception, reduce churn risk”
User GoalsPrimary User GoalWhat the user wants“Understand value of product within 30s”
 Supporting GoalsAdditional needs“Seamless onboarding, easy collaboration”
Design Team GoalsDelivery GoalWhat the team must ensure“UI handoff-ready in 10 working days”
 Quality GoalQuality benchmarks“WCAG AA compliance, 0 major QA flags”
Success MetricsBusiness Metric(s)Quantitative outcome“+20% demo bookings, bounce rate <40%”
 User Metric(s)UX indicators“Avg. task completion time <2 mins”
 Team Metric(s)Process indicators“All screens approved in QA before dev sync”
Risks & WatchoutsKey RisksWhat may block success“Overloaded dev sprints, unclear messaging”
 MitigationHow to avoid risks“Lock content in alignment call before design”

Usage Notes

  • To be filled during the intake stage, after persona and interview notes.
  • Should fit 1–2 pages max for clarity.
  • Must be approved in the discovery alignment call before design begins.