Definition: Management framework defining ambitious, measurable objectives with quantifiable key results to align teams and track progress transparently.
— Source: NERVICO, Product Development Consultancy
What are OKRs
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is an objective management framework that defines ambitious goals (Objectives) accompanied by quantifiable key results (Key Results) that measure progress toward those goals. It was created by Andy Grove at Intel and popularized by John Doerr at Google. Objectives answer “what do we want to achieve” and key results answer “how will we know we achieved it.” OKRs are typically set quarterly and are public within the organization.
How it works
Each organizational level (company, team, individual) defines between 3 and 5 objectives per quarter. Each objective has 2 to 5 measurable key results. Objectives should be qualitative, inspiring, and ambitious. Key results should be quantitative, verifiable, and achievable (though challenging). At the end of the quarter, each key result is scored from 0 to 1.0. A score of 0.7 is considered successful for aspirational OKRs (stretch goals). If a team consistently scores 1.0 on all their OKRs, the objectives are not ambitious enough.
Why it matters
In growing organizations, teams commonly work in misaligned directions. OKRs create transparency: everyone sees everyone else’s objectives, facilitating cross-team coordination. They also separate the “what” (strategic objectives) from the “how” (concrete tasks), allowing teams autonomy in deciding how to achieve results. Unlike KPIs, which measure ongoing operational performance, OKRs drive change and improvement.
Practical example
A digital product company defines its Q1 OKRs. Company objective: “Become the preferred tool for mid-size engineering teams.” Key results: (1) reach 500 active teams with more than 10 users (currently 320), (2) achieve an NPS of 50 or higher (currently 38), (3) reduce onboarding time to under 15 minutes (currently 45). The product team inherits these OKRs and defines their own aligned ones: improve the onboarding flow, add preconfigured templates for engineering teams, and create a referral program between teams.