Glossary
What are OKRs (objectives and key results)?
OKR: OKRs (objectives and key results) are a goal-setting method that pairs one ambitious, qualitative objective with a few measurable key results that show whether it was reached.
OKRs are a goal-setting method with two parts. The objective says in words what you want to achieve. The key results, usually two to five of them, say in numbers how you will know you got there. The objective is ambitious and qualitative. Each key result is measurable and has a starting value, a target and a date.
A worked example
A construction-software vendor plans the next quarter for one customer account. The Q3 review gives the starting values: 91% of site reports filed the same day, 212 active users on 240 licenses and a median time to answer of 2.1 hours.
Each key result starts from a known baseline and can be checked on a given date. "Run a training for site managers" is not a key result. It is an initiative that should move one.
How to write good OKRs
- Write the objective as an outcome people can picture, not a list of work.
- Add two to five key results with a baseline, a target and a deadline.
- Measure outcomes, not activities. Customers, speed, quality or revenue move; tasks only get done.
- Aim high on purpose. Key results are usually scored from 0.0 to 1.0, and a score of 0.6 to 0.7 is widely seen as healthy for ambitious goals.
- Review at a fixed rhythm, weekly or monthly, and score at the end of the cycle. Then write the next OKRs from what you learned.
OKRs on slides
One slide per objective is enough. Use the objective as the title and show each key result as a tile with baseline, current value and target. A RAG status shows at a glance which key results are on track. In a quarterly business review, last quarter's results become the baselines, as below.
OKR, KPI and roadmap
A KPI monitors something that has to stay healthy. An OKR drives a change and ends. Key results are therefore often KPIs with a new target. The initiatives on a roadmap are how the team plans to move them.
Typical mistakes
- Key results that are tasks, such as "Launch the new onboarding".
- Too many objectives. Focus is the point of the method.
- Safe targets. If every key result is met, the goals were probably not ambitious enough.
- Using scores as a pay rating. If scores decide pay, teams learn to set safe goals. Keep OKR scores out of the pay discussion.
- Writing OKRs and never reviewing them.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who invented OKRs?
Andy Grove developed the method at Intel in the 1970s. John Doerr, who learned it at Intel, introduced it at Google in 1999 and described it in his 2018 book Measure What Matters.
How many OKRs should a team have?
Keep it to a few. Three to five objectives per cycle is common practice, each with two to five key results. Fewer objectives are easier to focus on and to review.
What is the difference between OKRs and KPIs?
A KPI keeps an eye on something you run, such as on-time delivery. An OKR sets a goal for change in a period and measures it with key results. A KPI can become a key result when you give it a new target.
What is a good OKR score?
Key results are usually scored from 0.0 to 1.0, and a score of 0.6 to 0.7 is widely seen as healthy for ambitious goals. If a team scores 1.0 every time, the goals were probably too safe.
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