SMART
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Business & Finance, Technology & Computing, Medical |
SMART has three meanings. The most common are Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound (management & strategy) and Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (computer hardware); it can also stand for Single maintenance and reliever therapy.
Meanings of SMART at a glance
| # | SMART stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound | Business & Finance › Management & Strategy |
| 2 | Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology | Technology & Computing › Computer Hardware |
| 3 | Single maintenance and reliever therapy | Medical › Drug Class |
1. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound
Business & Finance · Management & Strategy Abbreviations
Checklist for writing goals so they can be tracked: each goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to wider aims and tied to a deadline. Managers apply it to performance reviews, project objectives and personal development plans, and it is a staple of HR and leadership training.
Example: Rewrite "improve customer service" as a SMART goal: cut average email response time from 24 to 8 hours by June 30.
The acronym first appeared in George T. Doran's 1981 Management Review article "There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives." The words behind the letters vary: A can mean attainable, achievable or assignable, and R can mean realistic or relevant. Critics argue that strict SMART goals can discourage ambitious targets, one reason OKRs allow stretch goals.
2. Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology
Technology & Computing · Computer Hardware Abbreviations
Monitoring system built into hard drives and SSDs that tracks health indicators such as reallocated sectors, error rates, temperature, power-on hours and flash wear, so software can warn of likely failure.
Example: CrystalDiskInfo shows a SMART warning for 48 reallocated sectors, so replace that drive soon.
Also written S.M.A.R.T. It was standardized in the mid-1990s from IBM's earlier Predictive Failure Analysis. Tools such as smartctl and CrystalDiskInfo read the attributes. SMART is useful but imperfect: a 2007 Google study of its drive fleet found that many failed disks had shown no SMART warning beforehand, so backups remain essential.
3. Single maintenance and reliever therapy
Medical · Drug Class Abbreviations
Asthma strategy in which one inhaler containing an inhaled corticosteroid plus formoterol, usually budesonide-formoterol, is used both as daily maintenance and for quick relief of symptoms, replacing a separate albuterol rescue inhaler.
Example: SMART: budesonide-formoterol 160/4.5, 1-2 puffs BID plus 1 puff PRN, max 12/day.
SMART works because formoterol acts within minutes while each reliever puff also delivers steroid. The Global Initiative for Asthma has preferred ICS-formoterol reliever approaches since 2019, and the 2020 US NAEPP update recommended SMART for patients aged 4 and older at moderate severity steps. The same approach is also called MART.
Related abbreviations
More management & strategy abbreviations
- SAM – Serviceable addressable market
- SBU – Strategic business unit
- SLA – Service-level agreement
- SLT – Senior leadership team
- SMB – Small and midsize business
- SME – Small and medium-sized enterprise
- SOM – Serviceable obtainable market
- SOP – Standard operating procedure
See all 92 management & strategy abbreviations →
More computer hardware abbreviations
- SFF – Small form factor
- SFX – Small Form Factor eXtended
- SLC – Single-level cell
- SLI – Scalable Link Interface
- SMR – Shingled magnetic recording
- SMT – Simultaneous multithreading
- SO-DIMM – Small outline dual inline memory module
- SoC – System on a chip
See all 151 computer hardware abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.