3 OKR examples for Information Technology
What are Information Technology 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.
Formulating strong OKRs can be a complex endeavor, particularly for first-timers. Prioritizing outcomes over projects is crucial when developing your plans.
We've tailored a list of OKRs examples for Information Technology to help you. You can look at any of the templates below to get some inspiration for 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 Information Technology 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
Focus can only be achieve by limiting the number of competing priorities. It is crucial that you take the time to identify where you need to move the needle, and avoid adding business-as-usual activities to your OKRs.
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.
Tip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins
Having good goals is only half the effort. You'll get significant more value from your OKRs if you commit to a weekly check-in process.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #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 Information Technology 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 Information Technology OKRs
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs framework. 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
Spreadsheets are enough to get started. Then, once you need to scale you can use a proper OKR platform to make things easier.
If 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.
Information Technology 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'll find below a list of Objectives and Key Results templates for Information Technology. We also included strategic projects for each template to make it easier to understand the difference between key results and projects.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to enhance Product's Cybersecurity
- Enhance Product's Cybersecurity
- Implement two additional layers of authentication for user access to sensitive data
- Reduce the average response time for resolving cybersecurity incidents by 20%
- Implement real-time threat monitoring and detection systems to identify and respond to incidents promptly
- Conduct regular cybersecurity training and awareness programs to improve incident response capabilities
- Enhance collaboration and communication between cybersecurity teams to streamline incident resolution processes
- Develop and implement standardized incident response procedures for efficient and effective resolution
- Conduct a comprehensive vulnerability assessment and address identified issues within two weeks
- Increase cybersecurity training completion rate to 90% for all employees
- Conduct regular assessments and evaluations to identify and address any barriers to training completion
- Implement a regular reminder system to notify employees about pending training and deadlines
- Develop engaging online cybersecurity training modules with interactive exercises and gamification elements
- Provide incentives and rewards for employees who complete cybersecurity training on time
OKRs to improve organization's DevOps practices and monitoring systems
- Improve organization's DevOps practices and monitoring systems
- Implement real-time monitoring for critical systems
- Set up necessary hardware and infrastructure for real-time monitoring
- Research and select a real-time monitoring software solution
- Create a checklist of critical systems to be monitored in real-time
- Train staff on using the real-time monitoring system and troubleshooting potential issues
- Achieve 99% uptime for all production services
- Implement automated monitoring systems to detect and resolve service interruptions promptly
- Create redundancy in server infrastructure to prevent single points of failure
- Establish a robust backup and disaster recovery plan for all production services
- Regularly schedule and perform maintenance tasks to optimize system performance and stability
- Reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR) for incidents by 20%
- Increase adoption of DevOps practices across all teams
- Implement automated CI/CD pipelines for faster software delivery
- Encourage cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing between teams
- Regularly review and optimize existing processes to ensure continuous improvement
- Provide comprehensive DevOps training for all teams
OKRs to implement an effective smart workplace management system
- Implement an effective smart workplace management system
- Identify and select a suitable smart workplace management system by analyzing 5 potential options
- Make final selection based on analysis and business needs
- Analyze features, reviews, and pricing of each system
- Research and list five potential smart workplace management systems
- Train 100% of workforce to effectively utilize the new management system for daily operations
- Implement strategies for workforce to apply system knowledge daily
- Organize comprehensive training sessions about the new management system
- Provide regular follow-up training for continual workforce development
- Procure the selected system and complete installation in 80% of the workplace areas
- Schedule installation in various work zones
- Purchase the selected system for implementation
- Ensure setup in 80% of designated areas
More Information Technology OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
OKRs to get better user retention OKRs to boost employee awareness and risk perception OKRs to increase community growth OKRs to enhance creative innovation prowess in apparel design OKRs to generate quality leads via data mining OKRs to track your personal Rockefeller plan
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