Decide whether a goal is ready to close

Use the final measurement and agreed acceptance conditions to close, continue or revise the work.

Before you start

Have the latest measurement source, the agreed target and any required review of the deliverable. A key result can meet its number while the objective still has unfinished acceptance conditions.

Review the period and choose the next step

1. Open the exact key result in Goals. Match its measurement and parent goal/objective, then compare Progress, Status, Confidence, owner and dates with the final evidence.
2. If a direct-percentage update is still needed, use the P progress control, wait for the saved value to settle and reopen the same key result. Do not overwrite a later valid checkpoint.
3. Open the parent objective and goal separately. Check their own progress and status; completing one child does not establish that all of the parent’s work is finished.
4. Decide what the evidence supports: close an accepted result, continue the unchanged commitment, agree a revised scope, or stop the initiative for a stated reason. If the measure is met but a required review is pending, keep that distinction visible.
5. When the key result is ready for completion under your team’s process, open Change status beside its current status and choose Completed. Reopen the key result to check the saved status, then check the parent records separately. Do not assume that this also changes progress, confidence or parent status.
6. Keep a short period note with the measurement source: scope and checkpoint, evidence and result, decision, remaining limits and next action. If continuing, include the agreed owner and next review point.

Expected result

The period has a clear, evidence-based decision and the app record reflects the action you actually took.

Remember: Archive and Move to Bin under More actions are not substitutes for accepting a result. Preserve the earlier period and its corrections. A new period needs its own scope and baseline rather than a copied score or silently moved deadline.

Continue learning

In this series: Set and track goals — guide 6 of 6.

• Previous: Review a key result against its evidence
• Browse tutorials