9 OKR examples for Software Engineer
What are Software Engineer 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.
Creating impactful OKRs can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. Shifting your focus from projects to outcomes is key to successful planning.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Software Engineer 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 Software Engineer 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
Focus can only be achieve by limiting the number of competing priorities. It is crucial that you take the time to identify where you need to move the needle, and avoid adding business-as-usual activities to your 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.
Tip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins
Having good goals is only half the effort. You'll get significant more value from your OKRs if you commit to a weekly check-in process.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #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 Software Engineer 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 Software Engineer OKRs
Quarterly OKRs should have weekly updates to get all the 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
Spreadsheets are enough to get started. Then, once you need to scale you can use a proper OKR platform to make things easier.
If 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.
Software Engineer 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'll find below a list of Objectives and Key Results templates for Software Engineer. We also included strategic projects for each template to make it easier to understand the difference between key results and projects.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to implement a new CI/CD platform for seamless software deployment and delivery
- Implement a new CI/CD platform for seamless software deployment and delivery
- Configure and successfully integrate the chosen CI/CD platform with the existing development toolchain
- Integrate the CI/CD platform with version control systems and build automation tools
- Test the integration to ensure a seamless workflow within the existing development toolchain
- Set up and configure the chosen CI/CD platform to align with the development toolchain
- Research and select an appropriate CI/CD platform for the existing development toolchain
- Identify and evaluate at least three potential CI/CD platforms based on specific criteria
- Improve the average deployment time by 30% through automation and optimization efforts
- Optimize server and network configurations to speed up deployment and improve efficiency
- Automate manual tasks during deployment process to reduce time and human errors
- Implement continuous integration system to streamline software deployment process
- Identify and remove bottlenecks in the current deployment workflow
- Increase deployment frequency by 50% compared to the previous quarter, with zero critical production incidents
OKRs to enhance data engineering capabilities to drive software innovation
- Enhance data engineering capabilities to drive software innovation
- Improve data quality by implementing automated data validation and monitoring processes
- Implement chosen data validation tool
- Research various automated data validation tools
- Regularly monitor and assess data quality
- Enhance software scalability by optimizing data storage and retrieval mechanisms for large datasets
- Optimize SQL queries for faster data retrieval
- Adopt a scalable distributed storage system
- Implement a more efficient database indexing system
- Increase data processing efficiency by optimizing data ingestion pipelines and reducing processing time
- Develop optimization strategies for lagging pipelines
- Implement solutions to reduce data processing time
- Analyze current data ingestion pipelines for efficiency gaps
OKRs to achieve promotion to software engineer 3
- Achieve promotion to software engineer 3
- Complete advanced software development certification
- Mentor and provide guidance to junior software engineers
- Schedule regular one-on-one meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and career goals
- Offer constructive feedback and actionable suggestions for improvement on their code
- Actively involve them in meaningful projects to gain real-world experience and build confidence
- Provide resources and recommend learning opportunities to enhance their technical skills
- Receive positive performance reviews from team members and supervisors
- Regularly check in with team members and supervisors to receive feedback and updates
- Actively listen to team members and supervisors, and address any concerns or suggestions
- Set clear and measurable goals with team members and supervisors
- Continuously improve skills and knowledge through training and professional development opportunities
- Deliver three high-impact software projects successfully
- Implement effective project management methodologies to ensure efficient coordination and communication
- Define clear project goals, timelines, and deliverables for each software project
- Assemble a skilled and dedicated team with the necessary expertise for each project
- Regularly monitor and evaluate progress, making adjustments as needed to meet project objectives
OKRs to improve software system design and logging framework expertise
- Improve software system design and logging framework expertise
- Collaborate with senior engineers on at least two software design reviews and provide valuable insights
- Prepare for software design reviews by doing research and gathering relevant information
- Actively participate in software design reviews by asking questions and offering suggestions
- Schedule meetings with senior engineers to discuss software design reviews
- Document and share valuable insights and suggestions with senior engineers after the reviews
- Conduct research on best practices and emerging trends in software system design
- Engage in discussions with industry experts and peers to gather insights on software system design best practices
- Review industry publications and online resources for current best practices in software system design
- Attend relevant conferences and webinars to stay updated on emerging trends in software system design
- Set up alerts and notifications for research papers and articles on software system design
- Implement logging framework in one project and analyze its effectiveness
- Define and implement the desired log messages and their respective levels
- Integrate the chosen logging framework into the project's codebase
- Research and choose a suitable logging framework for the project
- Analyze and measure the impact of the logging framework on project performance and debugging processes
- Successfully complete online course on software system design with a passing grade
OKRs to improve software engineering skills through effective time management
- Improve software engineering skills through effective time management
- Increase the number of completed coding tasks by 20% each week
- Identify and address any obstacles or challenges that may hinder coding task completion
- Enhance collaboration and communication among team members for efficient task completion
- Provide regular feedback and support to assist in completing coding tasks
- Set clear and achievable coding task goals for each team member
- Improve adherence to project deadlines by delivering work on time in 90% of cases
- Implement effective communication strategies to address obstacles and ensure timely completion
- Set clear and realistic deadlines for each project task
- Prioritize tasks and create a detailed schedule to ensure timely delivery
- Regularly track progress and provide updates to stakeholders to maintain accountability
- Reduce time spent on non-essential activities by 15% during work hours
- Set specific time limits for non-essential tasks to ensure efficient completion
- Prioritize and eliminate non-essential activities based on their impact and importance
- Identify non-essential activities taking up significant time during work hours
- Regularly assess and adjust the allocation of time to non-essential activities as needed
- Attend and actively participate in at least 2 time management workshops or webinars
- Research and identify 2 time management workshops or webinars
- Apply the learned time management techniques in daily activities for improved efficiency
- Take thorough notes during the workshops or webinars for future reference
- Register for the selected workshops or webinars to secure a spot
OKRs to improve organizational DevOps practices with DORA
- Improve organizational DevOps practices with DORA
- Reduce mean time to recovery (MTTR) for critical incidents to X minutes through improved incident response processes
- Increase deployment frequency by X% through continuous integration and delivery
- Implement automated testing to identify and fix issues early in the development process
- Streamline the build and release process to minimize manual intervention
- Invest in continuous integration and delivery tools for seamless and frequent deployments
- Establish a robust version control system for efficient code management
- Achieve X% increase in test automation coverage for application releases
- Improve employee satisfaction by X% through promoting a culture of collaboration and learning
OKRs to accelerate product scalability for multi-tenant utilization
- Accelerate product scalability for multi-tenant utilization
- Increase software load capacity by at least 20% to handle increased users
- Optimize software code to enhance efficiency
- Evaluate current server capabilities and identify limitations
- Upgrade or add additional servers to bolster capacity
- Develop and test five new multi-tenant friendly features for our product
- Design and develop five new features based on the research
- Conduct market research to identify potential multi-tenant friendly features
- Execute thorough testing of these features before release
- Achieve 100% bug-free certification for our multi-tenant product construction
- Conduct thorough and regular product performance testing
- Implement quick, effective bug-fixing procedures
- Invest in quality assurance training for the team
OKRs to achieve quicker releases of the real estate application through automation
- Achieve quicker releases of the real estate application through automation
- Reduce bugs by 30% using automated testing tools and practices
- Train the team on effective automated testing practices
- Regularly review and improve testing procedures
- Implement automated testing tools in the development process
- Increase deployment frequency by 50% by optimizing the CI/CD pipeline
- Implement performance monitoring for continuous optimization
- Review and streamline the existing CI/CD pipeline
- Automate tests to reduce bottleneck issues
- Implement an automated roll-back system to minimize downtime by 40%
- Select and purchase appropriate roll-back system software
- Research available automated roll-back system platforms
- Train staff on roll-back system operations and procedures
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
More Software Engineer OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
OKRs to strengthen partnerships with leading law firms OKRs to develop a new in-product referrals program OKRs to successfully launch the Minimum Viable Product for Product Information Management OKRs to secure guest posts for enhanced brand visibility and thought leadership OKRs to boost customer acquisition rates significantly OKRs to develop core skills for beginner business analyst
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