When used correctly, the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) methodology is a very effective framework for goal-setting. Your engineering team may be able to better plan and maintain alignment with one another throughout the course of the development process with the aid of this.
Individually, OKRs can motivate team members to go closer to their personal objectives or shared objectives that will help the business. Engineering OKRs, like other frameworks, are only as useful as you make them. For engineering teams, OKRs should ideally track tangible, quantifiable key accomplishments that fall under more general goals. That’s why companies like JatApp okr software development adopt this methodology. The broad objectives act as a compass, directing each team member on the right path.
What is OKR in software development?
Objectives and Key Results are referred to as OKRs. In order to develop tough, ambitious objectives with measurable outcomes, teams and individuals employ this collaborative goal-setting process. Using OKRs, you may monitor progress toward concrete targets while fostering alignment and engagement.
OKRs are effective for creating goals at many different company levels, whether we’re talking about office management, software engineering, NGOs, or something else. They can be utilized to accomplish personal objectives and even by individuals to do tasks in settings where senior leadership does not employ them.
What are the components of OKR development methodology?
Now that we know the OKR meaning let’s learn more about its core components. Typically, an objective is listed at the top of an OKR, followed by three to five supporting Key Results. They can also be expressed in the following way: I will (Objective) as measured by (Key Results).
For instance, “I will update the website so that the vast majority of users can access it, as measured by 7 out of 10 users being able to do so, a 2-second response time, and a 1% error rate.”
Objectives
An objective is nothing more or less than what has to be accomplished. By definition, objectives are important, specific, practical, and (hopefully) motivating. They serve as a preventative measure against hazy thinking and inefficient execution when properly developed and implemented.
Key Results
Key Results serve as a gauge for progress toward the objective. Effective KRs are aggressive yet realistic, specific, and time-bound. Most importantly, they can be measured and verified. There is no tolerance for uncertainty or ambiguity; you either achieve a vital objective or you don’t. We do a routine check at the conclusion of the specified period, usually a quarter, and categorize the important findings as satisfied or not.
While Key Results change as the work is done, and objectives can last a long time — up to a year. The objective is accomplished after they are all finished.
What are some professional development OKR examples?
Only when an OKR can be used to monitor development and direct a team toward a certain goal is it of any use. Specificity is key in this situation.
Although the majority of the examples below provide your team with broad goalposts, you should focus on each important outcome so that, by the time the deadline for that target has passed, there is a clear and measurable pass/fail result.
Aim for goals that are specific but include concrete metrics for tracking progress. How would you know when you’ve accomplished your aim, say, to “create better software”?
Prior to implementing any of the following OKRs, modify each measure and deadline to meet the demands of your business.
1. Examples of engineering OKR
One of the most important goals for some businesses is to increase the reliability of product releases. Therefore goals like this must fundamentally be supported by outcomes that reduce unscheduled downtime, shorten the time between releases, and speed up the deployment of fixes for production defects.Â
Objective: Improve overall product qualityÂ
Key Results:
- Lower the QA rejections per feature, on average, from 2.4 to 1.1
- Minimize the average number of recent bug reports from 80 per month to 52 per month
- Increase code coverage by 85%
2. Quality assurance OKR examples
The ability to control potential defects introduced with each release is ensured by improving the quality control process. Using OKRs, you can concentrate on lowering the defect rejection percentage and the mean time to detect defects, which will increase the product’s quality effectively and lower costs through early defect detection.
Objective: Increase the effectiveness of QA processes
Key Results:
- Increase automation test coverage from 53% to 89%
- Boost functional test coverage from 55% to 85%
- Decrease the lead time between fixes from 2,5 weeks to 6 days
- Reduce the number of high-priority bugs discovered in production from 3 to 0
3. Cloud storage OKR examples
Objective: Substantially decrease cloud costs this quarter
Key Results:
- Create a transparent outline of unit expenses for every feature this quarter.
- Cut two excessive expenditures and find more cost-effective options before the following quarter.
- Hold costs per transaction stable in the following quarter.
- Work on coming within 15% of the yearly budget by reaching within 15% of the quarter’s expenses.
H3: 4. Deployment automation OKR examples
Objective: Streamline the deployment automation process
Key Results:
- Decrease the deployment speed from 45 mins to 10 mins
- Cut the build timeline by four mins for each project
- Reduce the time-to-market speed for every release from 3 weeks to 7 days
- Set up and apply automatic CI and CD with a fitting enterprise software delivery software
H3: 5. The examples of usability OKR
Usability is a quality that describes a company’s capacity to expand and cope with rising demand. Enhancing usability has a benefit in that it is better able to respond to the shifting requirements of its users or clients. You can get trackable results in your engineering team by framing critical outcomes.
Objective: Make the product more usableÂ
Key Results:
- Boost the usability score from 65 to 90
- Enhance the usage of new features from 60% to 95%
- Boost user satisfaction score from 70 to 95
H3: 6. Personal development OKR examples
OKR can be applied to achieve personal results as well as general results for the whole software development team. You can set the key results for the whole team and for each employee separately. Personal key results can be different. Here are the OKR examples for learning and development.
Objective: Increase knowledge about AI adoption among team members
Key Results:
- Increase the number of monthly lectures from 2 to 6
- Receive an AI certification for every team member by the end of the year
H3: 7. The example of quality control OKR
By improving the quality control process, you can ensure that you can control any defects that may be introduced with each release. You can use OKRs to concentrate on lowering the defect rejection percentage and the mean time to detect defects, which will increase the product’s quality effectively and lower costs through early defect detection.
Objective: Enhance the quality control process
Key Results:
- Lower defect rejection rate from 20% to 7%
- Decrease mean time to error detection from 8 to 3 hrs
H2: To wrap up on software development OKRs
Product engineering is an example of a complex process that needs to be perfectly orchestrated to achieve high results. You just need to know what an objective is and choose the best fitting KPIs for your team.Â