Glossary · Product and planning
What are OKRs?
OKRs, objectives and key results, are a goal-setting method. An objective is a short, qualitative statement of what you want to achieve in a period, usually a quarter. Each objective has two to five key results: measurable outcomes, with a starting value and a target, that show whether the objective was reached.
Also called: OKRs, Objectives and key results
OKR (objectives and key results), explained
The method was developed at Intel by Andy Grove and spread widely after John Doerr brought it to Google in the late 1990s. Its appeal is that it separates direction from measurement. The objective says where you are going and why it matters; the key results say how you will know you got there.
A good objective is memorable and ambitious: "Make onboarding effortless for new customers." Good key results are outcomes, not tasks: "Raise week-one activation from 35% to 55%" rather than "Ship a new onboarding flow." Tasks and projects still exist, but they hang underneath the key results as the work you believe will move them.
OKRs usually cascade or align across levels. Company objectives set direction, teams set objectives that support them, and individuals may set their own. Progress is reviewed through regular check-ins during the period, often weekly, with a short note on confidence and blockers. At the end, each key result is scored, and the lessons feed the next period's OKRs.
Common problems are too many objectives, key results that are really to-do lists, and tying OKRs directly to pay, which pushes people to set safe targets. Three objectives with three key results each is plenty for most small teams.
For example, a startup's Q4 objective is "Prove customers will pay." Its key results: paying customers from 4 to 20, monthly revenue from $1,200 to $6,000, and trial-to-paid conversion from 10% to 25%. The sales team's own objective, "Fill the pipeline", links to the second key result.
How it works in Atrix
Atrix Goals hold objectives and key results at company, team and personal level, with parent goals for alignment and a period for each. A key result has a start, target and current value; progress is entered by hand or derived from a set of issues, deal value or hiring. Goals take check-ins and can be private to their owner.
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Related terms
- Product roadmapA product roadmap is a plan that shows where the major pieces of work sit over the coming months or quarters, and the dates other people depend on.
- BacklogA backlog is the ordered list of work a team might do but has not yet committed to: features, fixes, improvements and ideas.
- SprintA sprint is a fixed, short period, usually one to four weeks, in which a team commits to finishing a chosen set of work.
- Deal pipelineA deal pipeline is the sequence of stages a potential sale moves through, from first contact to won or lost, shown as a board or list in a CRM.