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OKRs for software engineers team and examples
Are you struggling to get your software development team on track and focused on the most important tasks?
Do you find it hard to measure the progress and impact of your team’s work?
If so, you might benefit from implementing Objectives and Key Results or OKRs for the software engineering team in your organization.
In this blog post, we’ll explain what OKRs are, how they work, and give you some tips for getting started with OKRs in your software development team.
What are OKRs?
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal-setting framework that helps organizations set clear, measurable goals and track progress towards achieving them. OKRs was developed by Andrew Grove while working at Intel, and popularized by John Doerr, who introduced the method to Google in the 1990s.
In the OKR framework, organizations set ambitious, measurable objectives that define what they want to achieve, along with specific, measurable key results that will indicate progress towards those objectives. By setting clear and measurable goals, organizations can focus their efforts and resources on what matters most and track their progress towards achieving those goals.
An example of OKR for software engineers team might be:
Objective: Improve code quality
Key Result 1: Conduct code reviews for at least 75% of new code within 48 hours of submission
Key Result 2: Reduce the number of defects in production by 25%
Key Result 3: Increase the percentage of code that meets accepted coding standards by 10%
In this example, the objective is to improve code quality, and the key results are specific, measurable actions that the team can take to achieve that objective. By setting clear goals and tracking progress towards achieving them, the team can continuously improve their code quality and deliver better products to their customers.
Also read: How To Reduce Hiring Biases To Recruit The Best Fits
OKR vs KPI: What is the difference?
| Criteria | OKRs | KPIs |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) define outcomes | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure performance |
| Focus | Outcomes that drive the company’s success | Metrics that measure performance against a goal |
| Type of goals | Ambitious, qualitative and aspirational objectives | Specific, quantitative and measurable goals |
| Scope | Company-wide, departmental, team and individual | Typically used at the individual or team level |
| Timeframe | Typically set quarterly, annually or semi-annually | Often set and reviewed on a monthly or weekly basis |
| Tracking progress | Progress is tracked using qualitative assessments | Progress is tracked using quantitative measurements |
| Flexibility | Can be revised or changed based on changing circumstances | Typically static and less flexible |
| Alignment | Alignment with the company’s mission and vision is a key aspect | Focus on specific areas of performance within the team |
| Examples of goals | Launch a new product feature, improve customer satisfaction ratings | Increase code quality, reduce response times |
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are often confused, but they are actually quite different. While both are used to track progress and measure success, they serve different purposes and are used in different ways.
OKRs are used to set goals and measure progress towards those goals for an organization. They involve setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives, and tracking key results that demonstrate progress towards those company objectives.
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are like a map that helps us to reach a big goal. They help us figure out what we need to do to get to where we want to go.
For example, let’s say we want to go on a treasure hunt. We might set an OKR that says: “Find the treasure!” and then we would figure out what steps we need to take to find the treasure. Those steps would be the key results. KPIs are like markers along the way, that help us know if we are on the right track.
In a case study by Google, software engineering teams that implemented OKRs saw a 10-15% improvement in goal achievement compared to teams that didn’t use OKRs.
KPIs are used to evaluate the performance of a team, project, individual, or program over time. They involve identifying specific metrics that can be used to measure the success or effectiveness of an initiative, and tracking those metrics over time to assess performance.
While both OKRs and KPIs are used to set and track goals, OKRs focus on the bigger picture and long-term objectives, while KPIs focus on specific areas of performance and short-term progress.
Benefits of OKRs for software engineers
Setting OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) can bring several benefits to your software development team, such as:
- Improved focus: Setting OKRs can help a software development team to focus on the most important goals and priorities, rather than getting bogged down in day-to-day tasks or lower-priority work. This can lead to better use of time and resources, and a higher level of productivity.
- Increased transparency: OKRs can be shared with the entire team, providing a clear understanding of what is expected and what progress is being made towards specific goals. This can help increase transparency and improve communication within the team.
- Enhanced accountability: Setting OKRs and tracking progress towards them can help to increase accountability for individual team members and the team as a whole. This can lead to a higher level of ownership and responsibility for meeting objectives.
- Greater alignment: OKRs can help to align the goals and objectives of the software development team with those of the wider organization. This can lead to a greater sense of purpose and direction, as well as improved collaboration and coordination across teams and departments.
Also read: 10 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring A Freelance Developer
How To Write Effective OKRs For Software Development Teams
They’re easy to write, but it can be trickier to come up with good ones that align across all levels of your organization. Just define these three things:
- The objective: This is your big, hairy goal in one easy-to-understand sentence.
- Key results: These are the markers along the way that help you know you’re on the right track. Think of them like checkpoints – three to five points that define either a deliverable or a milestone (like a KPI).
- Deadlines: When do you want to reach your destination? You can either use a periodic schedule (like monthly or quarterly) or specific dates.
In larger organizations, you might also want to think about who else needs to be involved in your OKRs. Just remember, an OKR should tell you who’s involved, what they’re trying to accomplish, the conditions for success, and when they want to get there. It’s not about the how – that’s up to you!
Best practices for setting up effective OKRs
Here are some best practices for setting up effective OKRs:
- Make sure everyone is on board: OKRs are only going to work if everyone is committed to them. So, before you even start setting them up, make sure everyone is on board and understands why they’re important.
- Keep them simple: OKRs should be clear and easy to understand. If they’re too complicated, people will get lost and won’t know how to contribute.
- Keep them aligned: OKRs should be aligned with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. If they’re not, they won’t be effective.
- Set stretch goals: OKRs should be challenging, but also achievable. If they’re too easy, people won’t be motivated to work towards them.
- Review and adjust regularly: OKRs should be reviewed and adjusted regularly to make sure they’re still relevant and that you’re making progress towards achieving them.
- Keep them transparent: OKRs should be visible to everyone so everyone knows what they’re working towards.
- Celebrate achievements: When you achieve an OKR, make sure to celebrate it! This will help keep everyone motivated and engaged.
According to a study by Deloitte, companies that use OKRs have a 30% higher likelihood of achieving their goals than those that don’t.
4 examples of Software Development OKRs
1) Improve code quality
Objective: Reduce the number of bugs in production by 50% over the next quarter.
Key Results:
- Increase the number of unit tests written per week by 50%
- Achieve a code coverage rate of at least 75%.
- Implement static code analysis tools and fix at least 75% of the issues identified.
- Increase the number of code reviews per developer per week by 25%.
2) Increase team collaboration and communication
Objective: Improve team collaboration and communication by 25% over the next quarter.
Key Results:
- Increase the number of team meetings held per week by 25%.
- Achieve a participation rate of at least 75% in team meetings.
- Increase the use of team collaboration tools, such as chat and project management software, by 25%.
- Achieve a satisfaction rate of at least 8 out of 10 for team members in surveys about collaboration and communication.
Also read: Best Tools To Optimize Communication In Remote Work
3) Increase the number of new features released:
Objective: Release at least 10 new features over the next quarter.
Key Results:
- Increase the number of user stories completed per sprint by 25%.
- Decrease the average time it takes to complete a user story by 50%.
- Increase the number of sprints per quarter by 25%.
- Achieve a 90% acceptance rate for new feature proposals.
4) Increase the efficiency of the development process:
Objective: Reduce the time taken to go from code commit to deployment by 50% over the next quarter.
Key Results:
- Implement a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline.
- Automate testing and deployment processes.
- Reduce the number of code review rounds needed before a commit is approved.
- Increase the number of commits per developer per week by 25%
Final thoughts
OKRs have proven to be really successful for companies like Google, LinkedIn, Intel, and many more. So it’s no surprise that more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. But not everyone has had luck with OKRs.
One big reason for this is that teams sometimes don’t fully understand how their own OKRs fit into the bigger picture. It’s important to make sure that team OKRs are aligned with and support the overall vision of the company.
That being said, it’s also important for each team member to have their own OKRs to contribute to the company goals.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on OKRs
The number of objectives per cycle should be no more than 3 to 5 and for each objective there should be 3 to 5 key results, respectively.
OKRs, or Objective and Key Results, are used by organizations all over the world. Multinationals such as Google, Twitter, Netflix, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Accenture, etc. use OKRs to set goals.
To ensure that OKRs are successful, do the following:
Track your OKRs weekly
Share feedback on progress
Don’t set goals which are completely unrealistic
Avoid setting too many objectives
Abhishek Ghosh
