Succeeding with OKRs in Agile - Allan Kelly

OKRs
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agileokrs2.pdf (2.5 MB)

Table of Contents

I. Why OKRs (1)

  • 1. Introducing OKR (2)
    • 1.1 Dissecting OKRs (3)
    • 1.2 OKRs and agile (5)
    • 1.3 Think broadly, execute narrowly (6)
    • 1.4 Ambition over estimation (7)
  • 2. Why use OKRs? (10)
    • 2.1 Mid-term planning (10)
    • 2.2 Test-driven OKRs (12)
    • 2.3 Communication (14)
    • 2.4 The team (15)
    • 2.5 Warning (15)
    • 2.6 Summary (16)
  • 3. Focus (17)
    • 3.1 OKRs create focus (17)
    • 3.2 Summary (19)
  • 4. OKR history (20)
  • 5. Outcomes, value and benefits (22)
    • 5.1 Business benefit and value (23)
    • 5.2 Value (24)
    • 5.3 Pieconomics (25)
    • 5.4 Summary (26)

II. Writing OKRs (27)

  • 6. Writing OKRs (28)
    • 6.1 Team setting (29)
    • 6.2 Limited number (30)
    • 6.3 Priority (32)
    • 6.4 Effort (32)
    • 6.5 Avoid planning by OKR (34)
    • 6.6 The trouble with pre-work (35)
    • 6.7 When to set OKRs (35)
    • 6.8 Not money (36)
    • 6.9 Summary (37)
  • 7. Objectives (38)
    • 7.1 Background analysis (39)
    • 7.2 Objective value (39)
    • 7.3 Obvious value (40)
    • 7.4 Wide objectives (42)
    • 7.5 Feature factories (43)
    • 7.6 One for the team (44)
    • 7.7 Testing trouble (45)
    • 7.8 Take time but not too much time (46)
    • 7.9 Summary (47)
  • 8. Key results (48)
    • 8.1 Test first (49)
    • 8.2 Testable key results (50)
    • 8.3 Binary or analog? (50)
    • 8.4 Summary (52)
  • 9. Four types of key results (53)
    • 9.1 Type 1: Acceptance criteria (54)
    • 9.2 Type 2: Plan (54)
    • 9.3 Type 3: Lego bricks (55)
    • 9.4 Type 4: Vertical slices (56)
    • 9.5 Contrast (57)
    • 9.6 Implications for cascading (58)
    • 9.7 Domino effect (59)
    • 9.8 Summary (59)
  • 10. Objective worked example (60)
    • 10.1 The date (61)
    • 10.2 Minimal? (62)
    • 10.3 Context and constraints (62)
    • 10.4 Pharmacy (63)
    • 10.5 MVP (64)
    • 10.6 Full-size (65)
    • 10.7 What is key? (66)
    • 10.8 Summary (66)
  • 11. Measuring (68)
    • 11.1 Quantify (68)
    • 11.2 Measuring the impossible (69)
    • 11.3 Removing the subjectivity (71)
    • 11.4 Unintended consequences (71)
    • 11.5 Don’t boil it down (72)
    • 11.6 Summary (73)
  • 12. Key result tricks (74)
    • 12.1 Experiments (74)
    • 12.2 Hypothesis-driven development (76)
    • 12.3 Time-boxed (77)
    • 12.4 Survey (78)
    • 12.5 Knowing when to stop (79)
    • 12.6 Summary (80)
  • 13. OKR cycle (81)
    • 13.1 OKR cycle (82)
    • 13.2 Cycle length (83)
    • 13.3 OKR-setting is not work planning (83)
    • 13.4 What about work planning? (84)
    • 13.5 Summary (86)
  • 14. Planning players (87)
    • 14.1 Product Owner (88)
    • 14.2 Stakeholders (90)
    • 14.3 Managers are stakeholders too (91)
    • 14.4 Summary (92)
  • 15. Planning to plan (93)
    • 15.1 Schedule the events (94)
    • 15.2 When to set (96)
    • 15.3 Start late (96)
    • 15.4 During the cycle (97)
    • 15.5 End-of-cycle review (97)
    • 15.6 Mid-cycle review (98)
    • 15.7 Summary (98)

III. Working with OKRs (99)

  • 16. Organizing to deliver OKRs (100)
    • 16.1 OKRs everywhere (101)
    • 16.2 Bigger team, fewer OKRs (102)
    • 16.3 Sprint planning with OKRs (102)
    • 16.4 Traffic lights and status (103)
    • 16.5 Summary (104)
  • 17. OKRs and the backlog (105)
    • 17.1 OKRs, not backlogs (106)
    • 17.2 Backlog first (106)
    • 17.3 OKRs first (107)
    • 17.4 Return of the sprint goal (108)
    • 17.5 Summary (109)
  • 18. BAU – keeping the lights on (110)
    • 18.1 Option 1: suppress BAU (112)
    • 18.2 Option 2: reduce or remove BAU (112)
    • 18.3 Option 3: make BAU better (113)
    • 18.4 Option 4: objective zero – add BAU (114)
    • 18.5 Downside (115)
    • 18.6 Summary (115)
  • 19. Executing (116)
    • 19.1 Keeping focus (116)
    • 19.2 Prioritize (117)
    • 19.3 Visual display (117)
    • 19.4 Revisit often: sprint planning (118)
    • 19.5 Time-slice (118)
    • 19.6 Summary (119)
  • 20. Going off-piste (120)
    • 20.1 Unplanned but valuable (121)
    • 20.2 Prepare for the unexpected (122)
    • 20.3 Track distractions (123)
    • 20.4 Summary (124)
  • 21. Beyond the quarter (125)
    • 21.1 Three horizons (126)
    • 21.2 Rolling roadmap (128)
    • 21.3 OKR roadmaps (130)
    • 21.4 Feedback (130)
    • 21.5 Summary (131)

IV. Leadership (132)

  • 22. Strategy (133)
    • 22.1 Big goals (134)
    • 22.2 Agile makes strategy more important (135)
    • 22.3 Opportunity cost (137)
    • 22.4 What not to do (137)
    • 22.5 The backlog (138)
    • 22.6 Don’t forget the technology (138)
    • 22.7 Shared mental model (139)
    • 22.8 Summary (140)
  • 23. Leaders (141)
    • 23.1 Culture, goals and strategy elements (141)
    • 23.2 Day-to-day (142)
    • 23.3 Leaders and culture (143)
    • 23.4 Bottom-up more than top-down (144)
    • 23.5 Summary (146)
  • 24. Culture (147)
    • 24.1 Delivery culture (148)
    • 24.2 Customers (149)
    • 24.3 Openness and feedback (149)
    • 24.4 Psychological safety (150)
    • 24.5 Ambition (151)
    • 24.6 Summary (151)
  • 25. Leaders and planning (153)
    • 25.1 Broad–narrow (153)
    • 25.2 Forward planning (154)
    • 25.3 Cascade up, not down (155)
    • 25.4 Summary (157)

V. Forewarnings (158)

  • 26. Aspirations (159)
    • 26.1 Utility mode (160)
    • 26.2 Predictability (160)
    • 26.3 Creating aspirations? (161)
    • 26.4 Leaders and culture (161)
    • 26.5 An OKR adoption route (162)
    • 26.6 Exercise: where are you? (163)
    • 26.7 Summary (165)
  • 27. Everyday pitfalls (166)
    • 27.1 ‘OKR buffet’ (166)
    • 27.2 Late-arriving OKRs (167)
    • 27.3 Adding to the story hierarchy (167)
    • 27.4 Counting problems (168)
    • 27.5 Respect for specialists (169)
    • 27.6 Respect for managers (170)
    • 27.7 Summary (171)
  • 28. Trouble with targets (172)
    • 28.1 Targeting the measurable (172)
    • 28.2 Questions measurement can’t answer (173)
    • 28.3 Goodhart’s Law (173)
    • 28.4 Goal displacement (175)
    • 28.5 Overcoming tunnel vision (175)
    • 28.6 A final warning: targets (176)
    • 28.7 Summary (177)
  • 29. Individuals and performance reviews (178)
    • 29.1 Integrating employee reviews with OKRs (179)
    • 29.2 OKRs for individuals (180)
    • 29.3 Summary (182)
2

I’m really fascinated by the time box aspect of OKRs and I’m wondering where I can find more heuristics about using them as a project velocity lever…

If the team has all quarter to achieve this OKR, it may build an online store using third-party libraries. If the team has one sprint, it may subscribe to, say, a WordPress hosting service with sales plugins, then spend the remaining time customizing the site. Finally, if the team only has one day, it might set up a store Etsy, Shopify, eBay or Amazon Marketplace.

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There’s an example of this in section 19.5 “Time-slice” to illustrate a powerful principle: time constraints spur creative problem-solving and drive different approaches to the same outcome.

The key insight is this:

“The time box may mean the ideal, perfect or best solution is not implemented, but any solution would be an improvement and move the team closer to meeting the OKR. Placing a time box, a constraint, around work can spur creativity.”

The aim is not to build everything, rather it is to build something; it is not to extract all the value but to extract as much value as you can in the time you have.
At the end of the timebox you have more than you had a the start, you have some of the value and you have been able to learn. For the next cycle you might choose to continue and deliver more (improve the fidelity) or you might decide to focus efforts elsewhere. You have injected a review.

Related Reading

You might also want to check Chapter 10: Objective worked example, which dives into MVP thinking and how objectives themselves should be written to allow teams flexibility on how to achieve them—which pairs nicely with the time-slicing heuristics in Chapter 19.

I will also post an old presentation “Planning for Value - How much? When?” which discusses time-value profiles.

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HowMuchWhen.pdf (6.4 MB)