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The Busy Person's Project Management Book
Tip: The Polaroid Test Continued ...
One way to clarify objectives is to go back to the Polaroid Test we introduced in an earlier tip. For each objective, imagine what change to the current organisation's status quo will result directly from the objective being achieved - this is the output of the objective.
For example, if we meet an objective "To produce reports on sheep statistics by Friday", the output is "sheep statistics by Friday".
In other words, well stated objectives have the output [i.e. the change to the status-quo] "inside" the objective.
The outcomes of the project are the result of a stakeholder using the outputs to achieve some added value activity for the organisation or it's clients.
Thus we have a "value added chain". Objectives lead to outputs which lead to outcomes.