Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are useful to align people on what needs to be done and to consequently measure progress. These are not used for performance reviews.

Each team or area has their own sheet, for easy referencing and sharing.

OKRs are set by the team that needs to execute against them.

OKR progress is reviewed in person at a regular cadence (monthly, for example) with the team's stakeholders.

A good objective provides a qualitative, and hopefully inspiring, statement about the future.

The best key results are defined as a business outcome and track a measurable X to Y change. You want to set them high enough that it feels uncomfortable but not depressing, so people think beyond the obvious about how to achieve them.

OKRs have a priority, so it is clear from the start which ones will lose staffing if changes need to be made throughout the upcoming months.

Each key result has multiple projects, of which some might fail and some might succeed. Key results should not have to be updated if a project fails. All projects are linked to at least one key result.

There is one exception to writing business focused key results: Binary delivery (“ship X by date Y”) is ok if you pursue an unmeasurable but strategic initiative and/or you need to align a large number of people.

Project lists should go beyond what you currently plan to staff, so it's also clear what will not be worked on.

Check both the data validation and conditional formatting of the different sheets. The identification, priority, people, and update columns use them to save effort and keep consistency.

See the sheets at the bottom for an example. Feel free to duplicate this template for your own usage.

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