Becoming a PM: Using Objectives & Key-results (OKRs) for planning

In this article I’ll explain what OKRs are, how they can be used for planning cycles, and give some examples how I have applied OKRs successfully in the past. Finally, I’ll walk through a hands-on example for a previous OKR cycle (creation plus grading) to show how they work end-to-end. I am also sharing my top resources for OKRs, grouped by medium.

Planning is a central part of every process that would like to achieve targeted output with measurable impact. Without planning, there is the risk of chaos. What applies to strategy also applies to planning: the absence of planning isn not equal to bad planning. Planning can be done well, and there are teams working effectively without any planning at all. But bad planning is something to guard against. In this post I will use the (well known, and often written about) concept of OKRs to explain how product mangers can leverage this simpel tool to enhance their planning efforts.

Planning does not happen by itself

Planning is not something that will happen by itself. This is critical to acknowledge. This is amplified by the fact that in software development the end goal is not dictating a specific path (or small number of paths) to a solution, but instead a million (quite literally) different ways can lead to the same goal. This is not always the case. If you build a chair, a team of carpenters and designers can take a look at the chair and a finite (likely small) number of paths to construct this chair will emerge. In software, this is not the case. Each outcome can mean a very different set of (potentially large) paths to anyone in the team. Hence, clarity on the path chosen is more critical in a software project than maybe in other projects.

What are OKRs, and how do they work?

As a PM, you are always exposed to, or in charge of, some form of project management. OKRs have grown to become the go-to planning tool for a large number of companies of all shapes and sizes. They consist of Objectives and Key-results. Objectives are your measurable goals, things that you can articulate in numbers, or quantify with things that are measurable to you and the leadership team (read: ‘someone above you who funds your work’). Key-results are the actions which help to achieve those objectives.

• Objectives are high-level goals for your business, which should make you a little uncomfortable.
• Key-results are measurable, and often graded with a number (i.e. 0 – 1.0); the roll up of the KRs typically makes the score of the Objective.
• KRs are graded at the end of each cycle; target a score of 0.6-0.7 for top performing KRs; 1.0s indicate that your planning wasn’t ambitious enough; low ratings are input for future OKRs.
• OKRs are a great way to share across the company what your team is working on.
• OKRs are not used for employee performance ratings.

Example: Building a help center

[Objective] Enable users to self-service the tool, reducing support requests by XX% by launching a help center for our enterprise software by the end of the year
[KR1] Identify & approve HC structure with eng and leads
[KR2] Deploy WordPress site on sub-domain; deploy design theme to support HC formatting
[KR3] Successfully write and review / approve all (100% of) help center articles (doc format)
[KR4] Successfully port all (100% of) HC docs to the WordPress instance

This was not the only objective for this planning cycle, but it was the biggest one. You see that we had a lot of tasks to do to complete each KR, so this is not meant to be a ‘task list’. Eventually, we completed the KRs well, but we didn’t make the ‘100%’ mark, which we knew, but we still pushed for it.

What tool is good for OKRs?

Honestly, I have seen integrated tools at Google, as well as anything from docs and spreadsheets. In my mind, the format is really not that critical but there are things to consider. Here are some tips that I saw working well:

• Stick to a format. If you use a specific format (Objectives on top, bulleted KRs below, etc), stick to it. It will help make the various OKR docs flying around more readable, especially by leads.
• Add responsible individuals / teams to the KRs. Adding individuals makes the OKRs more readable, and helps folks who read them to know who to reach out to. This is especially relevant if s/ o from another org catches an issue / misalignment and wants to highlight this.
• Give an indication of the timeframe of the O / KR. Some OKRS are meant to complete within a cycle, others are not. Indicating what part is going to be done in this cycle, and what is out of scope can aid readability.

OKR FAQs

Over the years I found a couple of frequently asked questions that people asked repeatedly. Here are my thoughts on them.

Q: What is the best format to use fo OKRs?
A: File format doesn’t matter (doc, sheet, slides), anything works. What is key that you can share this format easily in your org, and that people are able to read the format. OKR formatting (Os as headings, KRs are sub-bullets) can greatly improve readability.

Q: Can I use OKRs for anything else but quarterly planning cycles?
A: Yes, absolutely. I use them for quarterly and half-yearly planning. For software products I find it hard to predict further than 3-6 months with any form of confidence. This might differ in your specific situation.

Q: How can I use OKRs for projects which take longer than a quarter (or: longer than my chosen planning cycle)?
A: While many projects are longer than a fixed planning cycle, try to isolate the work which can fit into a given cycle. We make design OKRs, and development OKRs, and prototype OKRs all the time.

Q: How can I make sure my OKRs are graded correctly?
A: OKRs are graded so that if you get them right, you land about 60-70% of the work you set out to do. It is up to you to create a culture in your teams that is invested in impact and outcome, over a false sense of progress. Don’t blame OKRs (or any other planning tool, for that matter) if you have failed doing that.

Take Action

Here are some more resources to help you get started with OKRs:

Videos

• Why the secret to success is setting the right goals, TED talk by John Doerr (12 Minuten)
• Accomplish Big Goals With Objectives & Key Results: Christina Wodtke tells the story from her book (27 minutes)
• How Google sets goals: OKRs, by Rick Klau in a Google Ventures Startup Lab video from 2012 (82 minutes)

Toolkits

• Google’s OKR Playbook, Google’s OKR guidelines and templates
• Set goals with OKRs, a guide by Google’s re:Work team
• A typical OKR cycle, John Doerr
• Hate OKRs? Avoid these 7 mistakes, by Sarah Goff-Dupont

Books

• To learn about OKRs and goal setting, I recommend Measure What Matters, by John Doerr. It really builds the foundation for understanding OKRs as a central planning tool, how it is implemented within and organization, and how it sits alongside other planning processes such ass performance management.
• Another great read on OKRs is Objectives and Key Results: Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs, by Paul Niven & Ben Lamorte. Check it out to get an extra deep-dive on the subject as you master setting goals with your team.
• If you’d like a more ‘story driven’ version of how to set goals for a business as you build up your team and product org, I found High Output Management, by Andy Grove a great read. The stories he shares are timeless, the principles both highly practical & relevant.