6 OKR examples for Agile Development
What are Agile Development OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
How you write your OKRs can make a huge difference on the impact that your team will have at the end of the quarter. But, it's not always easy to write a quarterly plan that focuses on outcomes instead of projects.
That's why we have created a list of OKRs examples for Agile Development to help. You can use any of the templates below as a starting point to write your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read more about the OKR meaning online.
Best practices for managing your Agile Development OKRs
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
Having too many OKRs is the #1 mistake that teams make when adopting the framework. The problem with tracking too many competing goals is that it will be hard for your team to know what really matters.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRsTip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins
Setting good goals can be challenging, but without regular check-ins, your team will struggle to make progress. We recommend that you track your OKRs weekly to get the full benefits from the framework.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparencyTip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples below). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
Building your own Agile Development OKRs with AI
While we have some examples below, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. There are 2 options available to you.
- Use our free OKRs generator
- Use Tability, a complete platform to set and track OKRs and initiatives
- including a GPT-4 powered goal generator
Best way to track your Agile Development OKRs
The rules of OKRs are simple. Quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly, and yearly OKRs should be tracked monthly. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
We recommend using a spreadsheet for your first OKRs cycle. You'll need to get familiar with the scoring and tracking first. Then, you can scale your OKRs process by using a proper OKR-tracking tool for it.
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsIf you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
Agile Development OKRs templates
We've covered most of the things that you need to know about setting good OKRs and tracking them effectively. It's now time to give you a series of templates that you can use for inspiration!
You will find in the next section many different Agile Development Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to enhance Product Development Efficiency through Metrics and Tools
Enhance Product Development Efficiency through Metrics and Tools
Develop and implement 3 new performance metrics for evaluating product development progress
Formulate three new applicable performance metrics- Identify key areas for improvement in product development process
- Implement metrics into ongoing project evaluation
- Procure and integrate 2 productivity-enhancing tools into the product development process
- Increase product development speed by 20% using efficiency-focused operational methods
- Streamline communication processes for faster decision-making
- Provide efficiency training for product development team
- Implement agile methodology for quicker development cycles
OKRs to transform company with lean and agile focus
- Transform company with lean and agile focus
- Increase customer satisfaction by delivering products and services faster through agile development
- Conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys to collect feedback and identify areas for improvement
- Set achievable and aggressive timelines for each project to ensure faster product and service delivery
- Implement agile development process to streamline product and service delivery workflows
- Invest in employee training and development to enhance skills and productivity in agile development
- Increase employee engagement by implementing lean and agile practices for better collaboration
- Establish cross-functional teams to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among employees
- Conduct training sessions on lean and agile practices for all employees
- Implement regular feedback loops and communication channels to foster open dialogues between employees and management
- Recognize and reward employees who actively participate in lean and agile practices
- Reduce operational waste by implementing lean principles and achieving measurable efficiency improvements
- Monitor progress regularly through key performance indicators and adjust strategies as needed
- Conduct a waste assessment to identify areas with potential for improvement
- Streamline processes by eliminating non-value added activities and optimizing workflows
- Develop a lean implementation plan with clear goals, roles, and responsibilities
- Improve team performance by conducting regular agile training and implementing continuous improvement practices
- Develop and implement strategies for continuous improvement based on analysis results
- Implement a system for gathering feedback and suggestions from team members
- Analyze team performance data and identify areas for improvement
- Schedule regular agile training sessions for the team
OKRs to improve software development team leadership effectiveness
- Improve software development team leadership effectiveness
- Improve team efficiency by implementing agile practices and metrics to track progress
- Conduct training on Agile practices and ensure all team members understand the principles
- Implement regular stand-up meetings to enhance communication, identify obstacles, and resolve them promptly
- Utilize Agile metrics like velocity and burndown charts to track progress and optimize productivity
- Establish clear goals and prioritize tasks using Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban
- Foster effective communication and collaboration within the team to drive successful project delivery
- Promote cross-functional collaboration by assigning individuals from different departments to work together
- Utilize project management tools and software to streamline communication and document sharing
- Implement regular team meetings to discuss project updates, challenges, and opportunities
- Encourage open and honest communication to foster a collaborative and trusting environment
- Increase team satisfaction and engagement through regular feedback and recognition
- Enhance technical skills by facilitating ongoing training programs and knowledge sharing sessions
OKRs to enhance product team's proficiency in Agile and Scrum methodologies
- Enhance product team's proficiency in Agile and Scrum methodologies
- Implement at least 2 complex features using Agile and Scrum approaches
- Identify and outline features for Agile implementation
- Develop feature roadmap using Scrum methodology
- Execute, review and refine implemented features
- Increase Agile and Scrum certification holders in the team by 30%
- Allocate resources for professional development and training
- Implement incentives for certification completion
- Identify team members interested in obtaining Agile/Scrum certification
- Reduce project turnaround time by 15% with Agile and Scrum methodologies
- Implement Scrum methods to improve task delegation and team collaboration
- Train team members in Agile-Scrum methodologies for effectiveness
- Utilize Agile values for continuous adjustment and quick responses
OKRs to drive Agile Culture and Continuous Improvement
- Drive Agile Culture and Continuous Improvement
- Increase employee engagement by 15% through the use of feedback loops and open communication channels
- Increase team agility by implementing Scrum methodology and conducting regular retrospectives
- Train team members on Scrum principles and methodology through workshops and coaching sessions
- Adapt sprint planning sessions to prioritize tasks and assign them according to team members' strengths
- Implement Scrum artifacts like backlog, user stories, and Sprint boards to enhance team agility
- Conduct weekly retrospectives to reflect on previous sprints and identify areas of improvement
- Implement an employee recognition program to encourage and reward continuous improvement efforts
- Achieve a 20% decrease in time-to-market for new product releases through streamlined processes
OKRs to implement Scrum and Agile training for the team
- Implement Scrum and Agile training for the team
- Measure improvement by achieving at least 80% pass rate in post-training assessment
- Implement regular training progress evaluations
- Provide additional assistance to struggling trainees
- Develop a comprehensive post-training assessment
- Achieve 100% team participation and completion of the training
- Implement incentives to boost training completion rates
- Regularly monitor and report team's training progress
- Assign mandatory completion dates for each training session
- Identify and enroll team in a certified Agile and Scrum training course
- Research accredited Agile and Scrum training providers
- Select a suitable training course based on team needs
- Enroll team in chosen Agile and Scrum course
More Agile Development OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to streamline DevOps processes for optimized efficiency and reliability
- OKRs to triple our website traffic
- OKRs to improve QA progress tracking across all projects
- OKRs to enhance sales team performance to achieve set KPIs
- OKRs to get better at public speaking
- OKRs to improve Domain authority score to 35
OKRs resources
Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.
- To learn: Complete 2024 OKR cheat sheet
- Blog posts: ODT Blog
- Success metrics: KPIs examples