OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

Definition

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal-setting framework that pairs a qualitative, ambitious objective with a small set of measurable key results used to track progress toward it.

Overview

An OKR has two parts: the Objective is a short, qualitative statement of what a team wants to achieve — ambitious and motivating rather than a number — and the Key Results are typically two to five measurable outcomes that indicate whether the objective was met. A well-formed key result is a specific, verifiable metric, not a task; "launch the new onboarding flow" is a task, while "increase onboarding completion rate from 60% to 80%" is a key result. The framework was developed at Intel under Andy Grove and later popularized broadly after Google adopted it in the late 1990s, and it has since become a common goal-setting system across the tech industry. OKRs are usually set on a quarterly cadence and cascade loosely from company-level objectives down to team and individual objectives, though many organizations deliberately keep some slack between levels rather than forcing rigid alignment. OKRs are often used alongside other planning structures — a company running SAFe or Scrum might still set quarterly OKRs to define the "why" behind sprint-level work, and product managers frequently use OKRs to translate strategy into measurable team priorities distinct from a raw feature backlog.

Key Features

• Objective: a short, qualitative, ambitious statement of intent
• Key Results: two to five specific, measurable outcomes tied to the objective
• Typically set on a quarterly cadence with periodic check-ins
• Loose cascading from company to team to individual objectives
• Deliberately ambitious targets, sometimes scored below 100% completion by design
• Separation of outcome metrics (key results) from task lists or backlogs
• Regular scoring and review to track progress and inform the next cycle

Use Cases

Frequently Asked Questions

Related in Career