Why do we need OKRs in a Tech Team?

Marco Alabruzzo

Engineering Manager @ Cazoo

http://marcoala.com - marco.alabruzzo@gmail.com

Cazoo - Yard Vehicle Location Team - Q4 planning

7 September 2022

What is the goal of this session

Understanding what OKRs are

Planning

Collaborating

Tracking

Sizing

Prioritising

What is the goal of this session

What a good use of OKRs in a team look like is the team expressing their plans in term of OKRs, and referring to them during execution.

Understanding how to use OKRs

OKRs come in all shapes and size

Base Definition

Objective

Key Result

WHAT we want to achieve.

It’s significant, concrete, action-oriented and inspirational.

HOW we progress towards an objective.

Key results should represent measurable milestones and not an activity. 

Definition

Key Result

"Key Result must have numbers"

 Merissa Mayer - former Google executive and Yahoo CEO

“{objective} as measured by {key result}”.

Bill Davidow - former Intel executive

Planning - High level

WHAT + HOW = PLAN

Mission

Objective

Objective

Objective

The Gate Foundation

Mission

“to create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.” 

1. Prove the world that a radical cure-base approach can lead to regional elimination.
2. Prepare for scale-up by creating the necessary tools – SERCAP (Single Exposure Radical Cure and Prophylaxis) Diagnosis
3. Sustain current global progress to ensure that the environment is conducive to the eradication push.

Prioritising

How much can we do in quarter?

Priority

Limits

A team should not have more than 3 Objectives

An objective should have between 3 and 5 Key Results

Priority

Objectives and Key Results can have priorities to limit the work in progress

Committed vs Aspirational

Committed

represents the maximum priority, and if not archived at 100% will require a post-mortem and the end of the cycle.

In Google, they originate from Senior Management.

Aspirational

represents a push for innovation that can start from every point of the company.

In Google, 40% of the aspirational OKRs are expected to fail.

Google has 2 kinds of OKRs: Committed and Aspirational

Ford

Objective

Win the Indy 500

Key Results

1. Test at wind tunnels ten times.
2. Reduce average pit stop time by one second.
3. Practice pit stops one hour per day.
4. Reduce pit stop errors by 50%.
5. Increase average lap speed by 2%.
   

Tracking

Key Results allow us to track our progress against the Completion of the Objective

Key results completion

At Google is recommended that completing all the Key Results imply the completion fo the Objective.

After writing the Key Results, check them by asking:

• Can you complete the Objective without completing one of the Key Results?
• Can you complete all the Key Results and still not complete the Objective?

Intel - Q2 1980

Intel Corporate Objective

Objective

Establish the 8086 as the highest-performance 16-bit microprocessor family

Key Results

1. Develop and publish five benchmarks showing superior 8086 family performance.
2. Repackage the entire 8086 family of products.
3. Get 8MHz part into production.
4. Sample the arithmetic coprocessor no later than June 15.

Collaborating

Having a concise representation of our objective, plan and progress will allow us to share with other teams.

Company OKRs can be cascaded to Department, department can be cascade to teams.

Horizontal

Vertical

Deadlines

Objectives and Key Results can have deadlines different from the end of the cycle

Intel - Q2 1980

Engineering Department - cascading from previous

Objective

Deliver 500 8MHz 8086 parts to CGW by May 30

Key Results

1. Develop final art to photo plot by April 5.
2. Deliver Rev 2.3 masks to fab on April 9.
3. Test tapes completed by May 15.
4. Fab red tag start no later than May.
   

Sizing

“If you want your car to get fifty miles per gallon, fine. You can retool your car a little bit.

But if I tell you it has to run on a gallon of gas for five hundred miles, you have to start over.”

Eric "Astro" Teller, Director of Google X

Sizing

2006

Planning - High Level

WHAT + HOW = PLAN

Mission

Objective

Objective

Objective

Objectives fulfil the Mission

Planning - Low Level

Mission

Objective

Objective

Objective

Key Result

Key Result

Key Result

Key Result

Key Result

Objectives fulfil the Mission

Key Result measure the Objective

Planning - Low Level

Mission

Objective

Key Result

Objectives fulfil the Mission

Key Result measure the Objective

What is the goal of this session

What a good use of OKRs in a team look like is the team expressing their plans in term of OKRs, and referring to them during execution.

Understanding how to use OKRs