When planning a project, even when using objectives, it may not always be clear what should be measured. A simple and effective approach to this is called the goal-question-metric paradigm, which uses a question as a bridge between objectives and measures. The approach is to ask questions about objectives that may help measures to be identified, particularly 'How will I know how well the objective is being approached?' and 'How will I know when the objective has been met?'. Other useful measures may be found by asking questions such as: 'How many?', How much?', 'When?', 'How useful?', 'How expensive?', 'How often?', 'Who?'.
For example, if the objective is 'make a better cake', then the questioning step may ask, 'How will I know a better cake?' and 'Who can tell me?', which then leads to measures such as comparison against a benchmark or focus group consensus.