Setting OKRs & Goals
Scope
Covers
- Turning strategy (or a North Star) into a small set of team/company OKRs
- Writing objectives that drive weekly execution (not just aspirational statements)
- Designing robust key results (prefer absolute counts; guard against gaming)
- Adding “default-on” systems/habits that make progress inevitable
- Defining review cadence + end-of-cycle grading to create a learning loop
When to use
- “Set our Q2 OKRs.”
- “Write objectives and key results for this team.”
- “We need quarterly goals that actually change behavior week-to-week.”
- “Our metrics are getting gamed / teams are optimizing the wrong thing.”
- “We need an OKR review + grading process.”
When NOT to use
- You don’t have an agreed strategy/North Star at all (use
writing-north-star-metrics or defining-product-vision first)
- You need sprint planning or a delivery plan (tickets, estimates, timelines)
- You’re using OKRs primarily for individual performance evaluation
- You only need a single experiment metric for one test
- You need an analytics/event tracking implementation plan from scratch
Inputs
Minimum required
- Planning cycle + horizon (e.g., Q2; annual; 6 weeks) and the team(s) in scope
- Strategy anchor: company goal, North Star, or “why now” narrative for the cycle
- Current baseline for key metrics (or best-available proxy) + where the numbers come from
- Constraints: capacity, must-do commitments, dependencies, risk tolerance
- Stakeholders: decider(s), contributors, approvers, review cadence participants
Missing-info strategy
- Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md.
- If still missing, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 OKR set options (conservative/base/ambitious).
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce an OKR & Goals Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if the user requests), in this order:
- Context snapshot (strategy anchor, horizon, scope, constraints, stakeholders)
- Alignment map (company goal → team objective(s), no more than one step away)
- Draft OKRs (1–3 Objectives; 2–5 Key Results each) with metric definitions, baselines, targets, owners, cadence
- Metric robustness + guardrails (anti-gaming checks; ratio/denominator rules; quality guardrails)
- Systems & habits plan (“default-on” behaviors/processes that make progress recurring)
- Review + grading plan (weekly check-in; mid-cycle checkpoint; end-of-cycle scoring + learning retro)
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md
Workflow (8 steps)
1) Intake + decision framing
- Inputs: User context; references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Confirm horizon, scope, strategy anchor, baseline availability, constraints, and decision-maker(s).
- Outputs: Context snapshot.
- Checks: Everyone agrees what OKRs are for (alignment + learning), and what they are not (performance evaluation).
2) Establish alignment (“one step away”)
- Inputs: Strategy anchor; current company goal/North Star.
- Actions: Write a one-sentence company goal for the cycle; map each proposed team objective to it (no deep cascading).
- Outputs: Alignment map.
- Checks: For every team objective, you can answer: “How does this move the company goal within this horizon?”
3) Draft 1–3 Objectives (outcome-first)
- Inputs: Alignment map; key problems/opportunities.
- Actions: Draft objectives as outcomes + intent (not projects). Keep the set small.
- Outputs: Objective list with short rationale (“why now / why this”).
- Checks: An objective can be understood without reading its KRs; it changes what the team prioritizes weekly.
4) Generate candidate KRs (robust, measurable)
- Inputs: Objectives; baselines (or proxies).
- Actions: Draft 2–5 KRs per objective; define baseline, target, time window, metric owner, and data source. Prefer absolute metrics; if you use a ratio, also include its absolute numerator/denominator KRs or guardrails.
- Outputs: KR table(s) with metric definitions.
- Checks: Two analysts would compute the same number; targets are directionally ambitious but not fantasy.
5) Add systems/habits (default-on execution)
- Inputs: OKRs draft; team operating model.
- Actions: Specify the recurring mechanisms that will produce progress (cadences, routines, gates, customer touchpoints), not just one-off initiatives.
- Outputs: Systems & habits plan.
- Checks: At least one “default-on” system exists per objective, with an owner and cadence.
6) Anti-gaming + guardrails
- Inputs: KRs + systems plan.
- Actions: Identify how each KR could be gamed or cause harm. Add guardrails (quality, trust, margin, volume) and ratio/denominator checks.
- Outputs: Guardrails section + anti-gaming notes per KR.
- Checks: You can name 1–2 failure modes per KR and how you’ll detect them early.
7) Review cadence + grading plan (learning loop)
- Inputs: Full draft OKRs + guardrails.
- Actions: Define weekly review format, mid-cycle checkpoint rules, and end-of-cycle grading (scoring + retrospective questions).
- Outputs: Review + grading plan.
- Checks: The plan produces learning, not blame; it specifies who reviews, when, and what decisions can change mid-cycle.
8) Quality gate + finalize the pack
- Inputs: Entire OKR & Goals Pack.
- Actions: Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
- Outputs: Final OKR & Goals Pack.
- Checks: Pack is shareable as-is; alignment, metrics, guardrails, and cadence are unambiguous.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (B2B SaaS): “Set Q2 OKRs for Activation to improve time-to-first-value for new teams.”
Expected: 1–2 objectives focused on new-team success, KRs with baselines/targets, a weekly review cadence, and guardrails (e.g., support tickets/new team).
Example 2 (Growth): “Set quarterly OKRs for Growth; we keep arguing about conversion rate vs volume.”
Expected: KRs expressed as absolute numbers (e.g., activated users) plus denominator/quality guardrails to prevent ‘ratio gaming’.
Boundary example: “Write OKRs, but we don’t have a company goal or baseline metrics.”
Response: ask for the minimum strategy anchor + baselines; if unavailable, produce 2–3 draft OKR options with explicit assumptions and recommend doing North Star/vision first.
1---2name: setting-okrs-goals3description: Set aligned, measurable OKRs/goals and produce an OKR & Goals Pack (objectives, key results, anti-gaming guardrails, systems/habits, review cadence, grading plan).4---5
6# Setting OKRs & Goals
7
8## Scope
9
10**Covers**
11- Turning strategy (or a North Star) into a small set of team/company OKRs
12- Writing objectives that drive weekly execution (not just aspirational statements)
13- Designing robust key results (prefer absolute counts; guard against gaming)
14- Adding “default-on” systems/habits that make progress inevitable
15- Defining review cadence + end-of-cycle grading to create a learning loop
16
17**When to use**
18- “Set our Q2 OKRs.”
19- “Write objectives and key results for this team.”
20- “We need quarterly goals that actually change behavior week-to-week.”
21- “Our metrics are getting gamed / teams are optimizing the wrong thing.”
22- “We need an OKR review + grading process.”
23
24**When NOT to use**
25- You don’t have an agreed strategy/North Star at all (use `writing-north-star-metrics` or `defining-product-vision` first)
26- You need sprint planning or a delivery plan (tickets, estimates, timelines)
27- You’re using OKRs primarily for individual performance evaluation
28- You only need a single experiment metric for one test
29- You need an analytics/event tracking implementation plan from scratch
30
31## Inputs
32
33**Minimum required**
34- Planning cycle + horizon (e.g., Q2; annual; 6 weeks) and the team(s) in scope
35- Strategy anchor: company goal, North Star, or “why now” narrative for the cycle
36- Current baseline for key metrics (or best-available proxy) + where the numbers come from
37- Constraints: capacity, must-do commitments, dependencies, risk tolerance
38- Stakeholders: decider(s), contributors, approvers, review cadence participants
39
40**Missing-info strategy**
41- Ask up to 5 questions from [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
42- If still missing, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 OKR set options (conservative/base/ambitious).
43
44## Outputs (deliverables)
45
46Produce an **OKR & Goals Pack** in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if the user requests), in this order:
47
481) **Context snapshot** (strategy anchor, horizon, scope, constraints, stakeholders)
492) **Alignment map** (company goal → team objective(s), no more than one step away)
503) **Draft OKRs** (1–3 Objectives; 2–5 Key Results each) with metric definitions, baselines, targets, owners, cadence
514) **Metric robustness + guardrails** (anti-gaming checks; ratio/denominator rules; quality guardrails)
525) **Systems & habits plan** (“default-on” behaviors/processes that make progress recurring)
536) **Review + grading plan** (weekly check-in; mid-cycle checkpoint; end-of-cycle scoring + learning retro)
547) **Risks / Open questions / Next steps** (always included)
55
56Templates: [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md)
57
58## Workflow (8 steps)
59
60### 1) Intake + decision framing
61- **Inputs:** User context; [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
62- **Actions:** Confirm horizon, scope, strategy anchor, baseline availability, constraints, and decision-maker(s).
63- **Outputs:** Context snapshot.
64- **Checks:** Everyone agrees what OKRs are for (alignment + learning), and what they are not (performance evaluation).
65
66### 2) Establish alignment (“one step away”)
67- **Inputs:** Strategy anchor; current company goal/North Star.
68- **Actions:** Write a one-sentence company goal for the cycle; map each proposed team objective to it (no deep cascading).
69- **Outputs:** Alignment map.
70- **Checks:** For every team objective, you can answer: “How does this move the company goal within this horizon?”
71
72### 3) Draft 1–3 Objectives (outcome-first)
73- **Inputs:** Alignment map; key problems/opportunities.
74- **Actions:** Draft objectives as outcomes + intent (not projects). Keep the set small.
75- **Outputs:** Objective list with short rationale (“why now / why this”).
76- **Checks:** An objective can be understood without reading its KRs; it changes what the team prioritizes weekly.
77
78### 4) Generate candidate KRs (robust, measurable)
79- **Inputs:** Objectives; baselines (or proxies).
80- **Actions:** Draft 2–5 KRs per objective; define baseline, target, time window, metric owner, and data source. Prefer **absolute** metrics; if you use a ratio, also include its absolute numerator/denominator KRs or guardrails.
81- **Outputs:** KR table(s) with metric definitions.
82- **Checks:** Two analysts would compute the same number; targets are directionally ambitious but not fantasy.
83
84### 5) Add systems/habits (default-on execution)
85- **Inputs:** OKRs draft; team operating model.
86- **Actions:** Specify the recurring mechanisms that will produce progress (cadences, routines, gates, customer touchpoints), not just one-off initiatives.
87- **Outputs:** Systems & habits plan.
88- **Checks:** At least one “default-on” system exists per objective, with an owner and cadence.
89
90### 6) Anti-gaming + guardrails
91- **Inputs:** KRs + systems plan.
92- **Actions:** Identify how each KR could be gamed or cause harm. Add guardrails (quality, trust, margin, volume) and ratio/denominator checks.
93- **Outputs:** Guardrails section + anti-gaming notes per KR.
94- **Checks:** You can name 1–2 failure modes per KR and how you’ll detect them early.
95
96### 7) Review cadence + grading plan (learning loop)
97- **Inputs:** Full draft OKRs + guardrails.
98- **Actions:** Define weekly review format, mid-cycle checkpoint rules, and end-of-cycle grading (scoring + retrospective questions).
99- **Outputs:** Review + grading plan.
100- **Checks:** The plan produces learning, not blame; it specifies who reviews, when, and what decisions can change mid-cycle.
101
102### 8) Quality gate + finalize the pack
103- **Inputs:** Entire OKR & Goals Pack.
104- **Actions:** Run [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and score with [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md). Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
105- **Outputs:** Final OKR & Goals Pack.
106- **Checks:** Pack is shareable as-is; alignment, metrics, guardrails, and cadence are unambiguous.
107
108## Quality gate (required)
109- Use [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md).
110- Always include: **Risks**, **Open questions**, **Next steps**.
111
112## Examples
113
114**Example 1 (B2B SaaS):** “Set Q2 OKRs for Activation to improve time-to-first-value for new teams.”
115Expected: 1–2 objectives focused on new-team success, KRs with baselines/targets, a weekly review cadence, and guardrails (e.g., support tickets/new team).
116
117**Example 2 (Growth):** “Set quarterly OKRs for Growth; we keep arguing about conversion rate vs volume.”
118Expected: KRs expressed as absolute numbers (e.g., activated users) plus denominator/quality guardrails to prevent ‘ratio gaming’.
119
120**Boundary example:** “Write OKRs, but we don’t have a company goal or baseline metrics.”
121Response: ask for the minimum strategy anchor + baselines; if unavailable, produce 2–3 draft OKR options with explicit assumptions and recommend doing North Star/vision first.
122
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