8 OKR examples for Code
What are Code OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
Writing good OKRs can be hard, especially if it's your first time doing it. You'll need to center the focus of your plans around outcomes instead of projects.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Code to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read more about the OKR meaning online.
Best practices for managing your Code OKRs
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRsTip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparencyTip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples below). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
Building your own Code OKRs with AI
While we have some examples below, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. There are 2 options available to you.
- Use our free OKRs generator
- Use Tability, a complete platform to set and track OKRs and initiatives
- including a GPT-4 powered goal generator
Best way to track your Code OKRs
OKRs without regular progress updates are just KPIs. You'll need to update progress on your OKRs every week to get the full benefits from the framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
Most teams should start with a spreadsheet if they're using OKRs for the first time. Then, once you get comfortable you can graduate to a proper OKRs-tracking tool.
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsIf you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
Code OKRs templates
We've covered most of the things that you need to know about setting good OKRs and tracking them effectively. It's now time to give you a series of templates that you can use for inspiration!
You will find in the next section many different Code Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to substantially reduce technical debt across all projects
Substantially reduce technical debt across all projects
Achieve 95% test code coverage to identify and correct hidden bugs
Use a code coverage tool to measure efficiency- Refactor poorly covered code sections
- Write comprehensive unit tests for each function or component
- Decrease codebase complexity by 25% using refactoring techniques
- Implement effective refactoring techniques to simplify code
- Regularly review and optimize code to maintain simplicity
- Identify redundant and inefficient code for elimination
- Conduct bi-weekly code reviews to identify and solve 30% of debt issues
- Schedule bi-weekly code review sessions
- Identify issues contributing to code debt
- Implement solutions for 30% of identified issues
OKRs to improve code quality through effective code reviews
- Improve code quality through effective code reviews
- Reduce average time taken to complete code reviews
- Set clear expectations and guidelines for code reviews
- Use automated tools for code analysis and review to enhance efficiency
- Implement a peer review process to streamline code reviews
- Provide regular code review training sessions for team members
- Implement and track improvements in code review feedback incorporation rate
- Conduct a survey to collect feedback from developers on barriers to incorporating code review feedback
- Analyze the survey results to identify the common barriers to incorporating code review feedback
- Implement a tracking system to monitor and measure the improvements in code review feedback incorporation rate
- Develop a training program to address the identified barriers and improve feedback incorporation rate
- Increase team members' satisfaction with code review process
- Increase average number of bugs caught through code review per week
OKRs to mobile and QR code integration
OKRs to qR code integration
- Successfully integrate QR code technology into our product offering
- Test and ensure 99% accurate scanning of integrated QR codes
- Develop rigorous testing protocols for QR code accuracy
- Review and analyse test results to identify improvements
- Conduct repeated accuracy tests on integrated QR codes
- Train 100% of our team on QR code product feature updates and functionalities
- Identify required updates and functionalities for QR code product training
- Develop comprehensive training materials for team members
- Schedule and conduct training sessions for all team members
- Implement QR code functionality on at least 90% of our products
- Design QR codes for each eligible product
- Research and select a suitable QR code generation system
- Integrate QR codes with product packaging design
OKRs to conduct regular penetration testing and code reviews
- Improve security through regular penetration testing and code reviews
- Ensure all critical vulnerabilities found in penetration testing are remediated within 2 weeks
- Conduct code reviews for all new features and major changes before deployment
- Implement at least 80% of code review recommendations within the next release cycle
- Increase the frequency of penetration testing from once a quarter to twice a month
OKRs to migrate to a new technology
- Our JS codebase has migrated to TypeScript
- Reduce the use of "any" type by 30%
- 75% of our JS repositories are now using TypeScript
- 80% of frontend developers have gone through TypeScript training
OKRs to increase code quality
- Demonstrate incredible standards in code quality
- 100% of pull requests are reviewed by 2 developers
- 75% of the developers have gone through QA training
- 100% of repositories are using code linting and static code analysis
- Reduce the percentage of QA-related broken builds by 60%
OKRs to enhance Developer Quality
- Enhance Developer Quality
- Foster collaboration by establishing cross-functional teams to deliver one successful project
- Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member to ensure clarity
- Facilitate regular communication and meetings among team members to encourage collaboration
- Identify key individuals from different departments to form cross-functional teams
- Provide the necessary resources and support to enable teams to successfully deliver the project
- Enhance technical skills through monthly training sessions with at least 90% attendance
- Monitor and track attendance of each team member for training sessions
- Provide relevant and informative training materials for each session
- Communicate the importance of attending training sessions to all team members
- Establish a monthly schedule for training sessions
- Increase code quality by implementing code review process and achieving an average rating of 4 out of 5
- Establish a designated code review team to review and provide constructive feedback on code submissions
- Implement a systematic code review process and ensure all code changes undergo thorough review
- Define clear coding guidelines and standards to be followed during the code review process
- Regularly measure and track the code review ratings, identifying areas of improvement and addressing them
- Improve efficiency by decreasing average bug fix time to less than 24 hours
More Code OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to increase revenue for the SaaS premium subscription
- OKRs to increase the number of qualified leads generated by BDRs by 30%
- OKRs to improve test coverage and automation for proactive debt remediation
- OKRs to foster higher productivity through effective team collaboration
- OKRs to stay informed on influencer trends and social media hype
- OKRs to improve EV Program outcomes through competitive and strategic data analysis
OKRs resources
Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.
- To learn: Complete 2024 OKR cheat sheet
- Blog posts: ODT Blog
- Success metrics: KPIs examples