Takeaway from Inspired by Marty Cagan Part 5— OKR
OKR stands for objective key results. Literally from OKR, it’s clear that objectives need to be set and the team needs to execute the tasks based on the set key results following the objectives. From Inspired, it’s emphasized that objectives should be qualitative and key results need to be quantitative and measurable, especially a measure of business results rather than output or tasks. In normal cases, Marty Cagan suggests to keep the number of objectives and key results for the org and for each team small. Usually OKR would be done with 1 to 3 objectives with 1 to 3 key results. Following these concept can make the goal more clear and easier to execute. After the objective and the key result are set, then it’s suggested to track team members’ active progress against their objectives weekly. As a result, it’s easier for the team to control the situation and know if the team is on the right track toward the objectives.
As an individual or a team, they have their own objectives. However, it’s important not to let personal objectives or functional team objectives dilute or confuse the focus of the whole org. Otherwise, the resource can be wasted or even creating the unnecessary competition in the org. It’s essential to be transparent across the whole org on what objectives each product team is working on and the current progress of each team so that different teams can align with each other and know what information or resource they can get from each other.
Some people may said OKR is the tool used to replace the KPI. Nonetheless, rather than saying that KPI is replaced, it’s more like that OKR includes KPI. As a matter of fact, the key result in OKR is in essence the KPI. There can be different ways to run OKR in different companies. However, the most important things to hold in mind is that this tool is used to help us focus on the right things in the beginning rather than pursuing the KPI without knowing why. Therefore, it’s important for the organization to make sure that the objective is consistent with the vision and value of itself. With that being followed, we can make sure the key results from the OKR can really bring the value internally to employee and externally to the customers.