10 OKR examples for Development
What are Development OKRs?
The OKR acronym stands for Objectives and Key Results. It's a goal-setting framework that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s, and it became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s. OKRs helps teams has a shared language to set ambitious goals and track progress towards them.
Crafting effective OKRs can be challenging, particularly for beginners. Emphasizing outcomes rather than projects should be the core of your planning.
We have a collection of OKRs examples for Development to give you some inspiration. You can use any of the templates below as a starting point for your OKRs.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
Building your own Development OKRs with AI
How to create great OKRs for any scenario in seconds
While we have some examples available, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here.
You can use Tability's AI generator to create tailored OKRs based on your specific context. Tability can turn your objective description into a fully editable OKR template -- including tips to help you refine your goals.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Click on the "Generate goals using AI" button
- 3. Use natural language to describe your goals
Tability will then use your prompt to generate a fully editable OKR template.
How to improve existing OKRs with AI feedback
If you already have existing goals, and you want to improve them. You can use Tability's AI feedback to help you.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on "Generate analysis"
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsTability will scan your OKRs and offer different suggestions to improve them. This can range from a small rewrite of a statement to make it clearer to a complete rewrite of the entire OKR.
You can then decide to accept the suggestions or dismiss them if you don't agree.
Using the free OKR generator to get a quick template
If you're just looking for some quick inspiration, you can also use our free OKR generator to get a template.
Unlike with Tability, you won't be able to iterate on the templates, but this is still a great way to get started.
Our Development OKRs examples
We've added many examples of Development Objectives and Key Results, but we did not stop there. Understanding the difference between OKRs and projects is important, so we also added examples of strategic initiatives that relate to the OKRs.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
1. OKRs to enhance employee recruitment, mentorship and development strategies
ObjectiveEnhance employee recruitment, mentorship and development strategies
KRRecruit and onboard 15 new high-potential employees
Identify talent through LinkedIn and job board searches- Arrange interviews with selected candidates
- Develop comprehensive onboarding plan for new hires
- KREstablish mentorship programs impacting 80% of team
- Identify potential mentors within the organization
- Develop a structured mentorship program outline
- Implement program and monitor participation rates
- KREnsure 70% of employees engage in at least one development program
- Monitor and announce progress towards target regularly
- Promote benefits of development programs to all staff
- Oversee individual sign-ups for at least one program
2. OKRs to integrate security controls into development sprints
- ObjectiveIntegrate security controls into development sprints
- KRSuccessfully incorporate security controls into two sprints by end of Week 6
- Implement security controls into sprints in Weeks 4-6
- Develop detailed security control integration plans by Week 3
- Identify security control requirements for both sprints in Week 1
- KRFully train the team on security control integration by end of Week 3
- Provide comprehensive learning materials and resources for the team
- Evaluate team members' comprehensive understanding by end of Week 3
- Schedule mandatory team training sessions on security control integration
- KRAchieve a decrease in security incidents by 40% by end of Week 9
- Implement a comprehensive cybersecurity training program for all employees
- Foster a company-wide culture of security vigilance
- Upgrade existing security infrastructure and software
3. OKRs to enhance proficiency in requirements assessment for personal development
- ObjectiveEnhance proficiency in requirements assessment for personal development
- KRConduct 3 mock requirements assessment drills weekly for increased mastery
- Schedule three weekly timeslots for mock requirements assessment drills
- Prepare materials, questions, and answers for the drills
- Perform the drills, review feedback, implement improvements
- KRComplete online course on requirements analysis with 90% pass mark
- Register for an online course on requirements analysis
- Achieve at least 90% on all quizzes and final test
- Regularly study the course materials to understand concepts
- KRDeliver detailed requirements documentation for 2 hypothetical projects with zero errors
- Develop thorough requirements for two hypothetical projects
- Review documentation to ensure zero errors
- Submit finalized requirements documents
4. OKRs to boost employee skills development by 20% with minimal budget
- ObjectiveBoost employee skills development by 20% with minimal budget
- KRAchieve 85% employee completion of online, self-guided courses
- Implement regular email reminders for course completion
- Establish incentives for employees who complete courses
- Develop engaging, relevant content for online courses
- KRImplement cost-effective, peer-led training programs for 75% of employees
- Select a diverse group of employees to undergo leadership training
- Assess current training programs and identify areas for peer-led instruction
- Develop and launch peer-led training sessions for selected employees
- KRIncrease internal mentorship partnerships by 30% to promote skills transfer
- Implement a promotional campaign for mentorship program
- Establish incentives for participating in mentorship
- Identify potential skilled mentors within the organization
5. OKRs to become proficient in React.js
- ObjectiveBecome proficient in React.js
- KRComplete an online React.js course with a passing grade by end of quarter
- Enroll in an online React.js course
- Dedicate consistent study hours each week
- Complete and pass all required assessments
- KRRead and understand documentation for 5 React.js libraries
- Thoroughly read the documentation for each library
- Summarize key functions and features of each library
- Select 5 React.js libraries for review and understanding
- KRBuild and deploy a small, functional web app using React.js
- Test the app locally to ensure full functionality
- Develop a small React.js web app following online tutorials or guidelines
- Deploy the web app on a preferred hosting platform
6. OKRs to develop personal and professional growth
- ObjectiveDevelop personal and professional growth
- KRIdentify and engage in a new hobby for personal satisfaction
- Regularly allot time to engage in chosen hobby
- Research various hobbies that align with personal interests
- Choose one hobby to pursue and gather necessary supplies
- KRComplete one skill-improvement course related to my professional field
- Enroll in selected skill-improvement course
- Successfully complete all coursework and assessments
- Identify relevant online courses in your professional field
- KRRead and summarize at least one self-improvement book
- Write a summary of the book
- Select a self-improvement book to read
- Read the chosen self-improvement book
7. OKRs to enhance proficiency and knowledge through ongoing professional development
- ObjectiveEnhance proficiency and knowledge through ongoing professional development
- KRAttend at least 3 webinars or workshops related to my professional field
- Research upcoming webinars/workshops in my professional field
- Schedule time to attend these events
- Register for chosen webinars/workshops
- KRRead and analyze 5 industry-related books to broaden expertise
- Allocate daily reading time for each book
- Select five relevant industry-related books
- Write a summary and analysis on each book
- KRComplete two relevant industry certifying courses with at least 85% scores
- Take, pass courses with minimum 85% scores
- Schedule consistent study hours for course preparation
- Research and select two industry-relevant certification courses
8. OKRs to boost employees' mastery in top five key competencies
- ObjectiveBoost employees' mastery in top five key competencies
- KREnsure 30% of employees progressively apply learnt competencies in their roles
- Provide constructive feedback and improvement plans
- Establish a tracking system for measuring competency application
- Develop continuous learning programs and hands-on training
- KRProvide professional training to 60% of the workforce on key competencies
- Identify the key competencies required for the workforce
- Source providers for professional training in these areas
- Schedule training sessions for selected workforce members
- KRAchieve competency proficiency of 40% of trained staff in assessment tests
- Implement online assessment tests to measure proficiency
- Initiate regular training sessions to develop staff skills
- Regularly analyze test results to identify areas of improvement
9. OKRs to enroll in relevant courses for proficient website development
- ObjectiveEnroll in relevant courses for proficient website development
- KRComplete three different web development courses on Coursera
- Select three web development courses offered on Coursera
- Enroll in the selected courses
- Complete assignments and pass final exams
- KRImplement practical knowledge by building a demo website
- Begin developing your website using the sketch as a guide
- Learn basic coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Sketch out a simple website design on paper
- KRObtain certification for each completed course for professional credibility
- Display certificates in professional profiles and resumes
- Complete all course assignments and assessments
- Apply for the certification upon course completion
10. OKRs to improve employee development and training programs
- ObjectiveEnhance employee skillset and productivity
- KRImplement personalized development plans for each employee
- KRGenerate a 15% increase in overall productivity after training
- KRAchieve a 90% employee satisfaction rate for training and development
- KRIncrease participation rate in training sessions by 20%
Development OKR best practices
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.
Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR 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.
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 above). 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.
How to track your Development 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
We recommend using a spreadsheet for your first OKRs cycle. You'll need to get familiar with the scoring and tracking first. Then, you can scale your OKRs process by using a proper OKR-tracking tool for it.
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.
More Development OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to enhance group communication regarding current conditions
- OKRs to implement strategies to enhance sustainable revenue growth
- OKRs to attain the position of Technical Program Management Director
- OKRs to enhance effectiveness of SIEM event management and correlation
- OKRs to ensure punctual and high-quality project delivery
- OKRs to implement effective project risk management strategies