Why is it important to define success numerically (hard indicators)? Are soft or nonnumerical indicators important? Why or why not?

Response: It is important to use hard indicators when defining success as these are less subjective due to being quantified. Being able to track success of a project numerically gives opportunity to break down your goal into interim targets and monitor the ongoing progress. For example, your objective is to reduce errors by 20 percent in six months but during this timeline you can set targets at the end of each month to check pace and ensure the inputs are on track to meet the objective. Having definitive success measures by hard indicators will also confirm that the project has successfully met its intended objectives reducing subsequent doubts and possible criticism between team members. However hard indicators are not always the answer when measuring success in a project, as what is easy to measure and define numerically is not always important and depending on the project there needs to be room for personal judgment. A soft indicator is not clear-cut when defining success but rather achieved when there is sufficient positive and little negative evidence for the outcome. Soft indicators can be more helpful in an objective that is targeted on initiative for positive growth in the customer, business, or process metrics but rather than focusing specifically on measurable data it is identifying evidence of improvement in the organization. Both types of indicators are important and useful tools for defining success in an organization, it is just conditional on the project's significant factor such as industry, primary objective, and the numeric targets.

does the response answer the question if it does how if it doesn't how can it be improved.