OKRs made simple: a beginner's guide for Tech Leaders

Sometimes, you may feel stuck tracking endless lists of metrics. Dozens and hundreds of numbers you check off to prove you’re working hard just because it was always done this way.

While hitting targets matters, the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework serves a deeper purpose: guiding your team toward growth, innovation, and sustained success. 

To go beyond task-checking, your team needs a clear direction and transparent indicators of meaningful impact. That's precisely what the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework offers. OKRs clearly define ambitious goals and measurable outcomes, and OKR Software helps teams stay focused, aligned, and driven toward real growth.

OKRs explained

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are a straightforward yet powerful way to set, track, and achieve ambitious team goals. Each OKR includes two key parts:

•    Objective: A clear, inspiring goal your team wants to achieve.
•    Key Results: Specific, measurable milestones that show progress toward your Objective.

You can word the entire OKR like this:

If you want a more concrete example, an Objective could be:

"Make our app the easiest one to use in our niche."

Your Key Results could then be:

•    Increase the onboarding completion from 50% to 80% of users.
•    Reduce the number of usability-related support tickets by 50%.

Notice that the example does not focus on outputs (tasks completed) but outcomes (value provided). That’s the real point of OKRs, and implementing them is more complicated than it might initially seem. However, it is more than worth it.

      If you want to go more in-depth into OKR basics, check out Oboard’s OKR Guide >>

Output vs. Outcome. What's the difference?

Let's examine the two ways to write OKRs: one for outputs and one for outcomes.

An output-based Objective focuses on tasks — things your team needs to do — but doesn't clearly say why they matter. In contrast, an outcome-based Objective focuses on results and helps everyone see why the work matters, motivating your team and aligning their efforts with company goals.

While you can effectively use a mixture of outcome and output-based Key Results, your Objective should always communicate the actual impact you’re trying to make. This approach requires a shift in the mindset, which never happens overnight. It won’t be perfect immediately, but you’ll get better within every new OKR cycle. 

OKRs vs. KPIs

OKRs and KPIs both involve measuring your work, but they serve different purposes.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) track your regular, day-to-day activities. Think of them like dashboard lights in your car — they tell you when things are working well or when there's a problem. KPIs include things like:

• Maintaining server uptime at 99.9% each month.
• Keeping customer satisfaction score above 90%.

OKRs, however, focus on big, ambitious goals. They push your team to grow and improve beyond everyday maintenance. An OKR might look like:

•    Increasing user engagement by 30% in a quarter
•    Reducing app loading time by 50% in two months

Sometimes, a KPI might temporarily become an OKR if there’s a significant need for improvement. For example, if your server uptime suddenly drops to 80%, reaching 99.9% uptime might become an OKR. Once fixed, it returns to being a KPI.

It’s also important to remember that KPIs are expected to be achieved in full. OKRs, on the other hand, are meant to stretch your team and push their limits deliberately. Even if you don’t hit 100%, striving toward ambitious goals helps you discover better workflows and previously unknown solutions to problems. The general perception is that getting 70% of progress in an OKR is a great achievement.

How to set effective OKRs in 5 simple steps

Setting OKRs doesn't have to be complicated. Follow these simple principles for the best results:

1. Set Clear and Inspiring Objectives
   Avoid vague goals like "Improve our product.” Instead, choose clear, motivating goals like "Deliver a frictionless onboarding experience."
   
   
2. Use Measurable Key Results
   Measure success, not just task completion. For example, "Increase onboarding completion rate to 80%" is a good KR because it points towards results, not just work done to achieve them.
   
   
3. Aim High, but Stay Realistic
   OKRs should push your team but still be achievable. If your team always achieves 100%, consider setting bigger goals next time. For the opposite scenario, you need to do a deep retrospective to understand what went wrong. If people feel that targets are unreachable, why even start trying?
   
   
4. Keep OKRs Open and Clear
   Make OKRs visible across your organization. Transparency helps your team collaborate better and stay aligned.
   
   
5. Regularly Check Progress
   Review your OKRs weekly or bi-weekly to keep everyone on track.

To learn more about implementing OKRs, check out How to Implement OKRs in Jira.

Vista Success Story with OKRs (Case study)

Let's explore a real-world example from Vista, a company that significantly enhanced its goal-setting and alignment processes by implementing OKRs effectively. You can learn more about it in Vista's case study with Oboard, but here are the highlights.

Vista, a part of Cimpress, is a design and marketing partner for millions of small businesses worldwide. Despite its success, Vista faced challenges ensuring company-wide alignment and transparency regarding strategic objectives. To address these issues, Vista adopted the OKR framework with the support of Oboard's OKR software.

Challenges:

•    Team members didn't always know which goals mattered most.
•    Teams wasted time because priorities weren't clear.

Solutions Implemented:

•    Vista started using Oboard to easily create, track, and manage OKRs across the company.
•    Oboard helped teams share their most important goals, ensuring everyone understood what mattered and worked together effectively.

Outcomes:

•    Better alignment. Every team knew exactly how their work supported company-wide goals.
•    Improved decision-making. Teams could now use their time and resources more effectively.

“OKRs help us communicate the top priorities and allow team members to allocate time and resources appropriately when faced with constraints".

Autumn Carulli, Director of Strategic Planning at Vista

OKRs help your team go beyond simply completing tasks. By setting clear, ambitious objectives and measurable key results, your team can align around shared goals and understand exactly what value they're creating. OKRs encourage innovation and teamwork, pushing your team toward meaningful improvements that make a difference.

Ready to set your own OKRs? Your team’s next big achievement might just start here.