Many OKRs are roadmaps with a different label:
Objective: Improve onboarding.
- Launch a checklist.
- Train Customer Success.
- Redesign the setup screen.
The team may complete every item without improving onboarding.
An effective OKR separates:
- the change that matters;
- the evidence that will demonstrate it;
- the work the team currently believes will cause it.
Objective: describe the change
A useful Objective is meaningful, clear and action-oriented.
Weak:
Improve onboarding.
Stronger:
Make first value fast and predictable for new customers.
The stronger Objective gives the team a direction without prescribing the solution.
Key Results: define evidence
A Key Result should make progress observable.
Examples:
- reduce median time to first completed workflow from 10 days to 4 days;
- increase customers reaching first value without support from 42% to 70%;
- reduce 30-day onboarding abandonment from 22% to 10%.
Each item has:
- a metric;
- a baseline;
- a target;
- an implied time boundary from the cycle.
Together, the Key Results make the Objective testable.
Initiatives: keep the work changeable
The checklist, training and setup redesign remain useful ideas. Put them in an initiative list.
This creates an important management option:
If the initiative ships and the outcome does not move, change the initiative rather than declaring success.
The Objective can remain stable while the route changes.
Distinguish activity, output and outcome
| Level | Example | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Activity | Interview ten customers | Research occurred |
| Output | Release a guided setup flow | A capability exists |
| Outcome | Increase first-value completion from 42% to 70% | Customer behaviour changed |
Outputs are sometimes necessary milestones. They should not be mistaken for impact.
Add guardrails
A metric can improve while the real system gets worse.
If a support team targets lower average handling time, agents may close cases early. Add guardrails:
- repeat-contact rate;
- verified resolution;
- escalation rate;
- customer effort;
- quality or safety incidents.
The guardrail should reveal the most plausible way the main metric could be gamed or distorted.
Check collective completeness
Ask:
If every Key Result is achieved, would a reasonable observer agree that the Objective is achieved?
If not, the set is incomplete.
For “Make first value fast and predictable,” an average time measure alone is weak. A small number of very slow customers may remain hidden. Add a percentile or completion measure.
Make dependencies explicit
An outcome may depend on several teams:
- Sales sets expectations;
- Product controls the setup flow;
- Customer Success supports adoption;
- Data defines the metric.
Mechanical cascading can split one outcome into local task lists. Instead, agree:
- shared result;
- contribution;
- decision rights;
- data owner;
- check-in cadence.
Mini-case: the completed help centre
A support team completed:
- 30 new articles;
- a new search experience;
- agent training.
Successful self-service remained at 28%, and repeat contact remained at 18%.
The correct response is not to mark the Objective complete. The team should investigate:
- whether customers discover the help centre;
- whether the ten highest-volume issues are covered;
- whether articles enable successful action;
- whether search results match intent;
- whether customers trust the answer.
The roadmap was delivered. The outcome hypothesis was not supported.
Use check-ins for decisions
A useful check-in asks:
- What is the current result?
- What is our confidence of reaching the target?
- What evidence changed?
- Which initiative should continue, adapt or stop?
- Which dependency needs a decision?
Reporting task completion without changing decisions turns OKRs into status theatre.
Avoid direct scoring traps
When ambitious OKRs directly determine individual pay or ranking, teams may:
- lower targets;
- choose controllable tasks over meaningful outcomes;
- hide uncertainty;
- manipulate metrics;
- avoid cross-team dependency.
Performance evaluation needs broader evidence and context than one OKR score.
Practical next step
Take one current Key Result and ask:
- Is it an activity, output or outcome?
- What baseline and target are missing?
- What behaviour could improve the number while damaging the goal?
- Which guardrail would expose that harm?
- What decision will the next check-in make?
Move tasks into the initiative list and keep outcome evidence in the OKR.
References
- Google. “Google’s OKR Playbook.” Playbook (opens in a new tab).
- What Matters. “How to Write OKRs.” Guide (opens in a new tab).
- Doerr, J. Measure What Matters. Portfolio, 2018.
Continue with the tool
Use the Objectives and Key Results guide to write an outcome-focused cycle with measures, guardrails and review decisions.