IxDF Open Handbook

About OKRs ​

WHAT are Objectives And Key Results (OKRs)? ​

The OKR method is a popular strategy for setting and achieving goals within organizations. Like most organizations, we use Cascading OKRs, that allows us to align our vision, mission, values and strategy with day-to-day objectives, work and key results.

Diagram of OKR alignment

And because the OKR method is collaborative, it allows us to realize our vision and mission in the best possible way, by connecting our organizational, team, and personal goals to measurable results while having all Team Members and Team Leads work together in one, unified direction.

Anatomy of an OKR ​

Every OKR has three parts—an Objective, a Key Result and a Task.

Diagram of OKR alignment

OKR Examples ​

Below are three example OKRs.

Diagram of OKR alignment

Note that in these examples the KPI's and tasks are combined. For example, in Example 02, "Develop five free articles" is a task, and "improve signups from X% to Y%" is a KPI that measures signups which indicates progress toward the Objective.

WHY Do We Use OKRs? ​

  • OKRs bridge the gap between our Vision, Mission, Strategy and the concrete Objectives and Key Results in our daily work.
  • OKRs help us create a weekly, quarterly, and yearly overview over how our daily tasks are connected to our vision, and therefore help us decide individually, and in our Teams, which steps are the best to take.
  • They help us track our individual and Team progress, create alignment in our Teams and across Teams so everyone moves towards achieving the same overall goals.
  • OKRs improve our focus and increase transparency within and across teams.

If you are still wondering, here are some more benefits of OKRs. Otherwise, if you are ready to start using OKRs at the IxDF, let's start with our OKR cadence.