What is OKR (Objectives and Key Results)?
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal-setting framework that pairs a qualitative objective — what you want to achieve and why it matters — with three to five measurable key results that show whether you achieved it. Set quarterly or annually, OKRs connect strategy to day-to-day work.
Reviewed by Gensudo Team · 23 July 2026
In more depth
The framework originated at Intel under Andy Grove and was popularised at Google and beyond by John Doerr. The objective is deliberately ambitious and memorable; the key results are specific, time-bound and verifiable — at the end of the period you can say whether each was met, without argument. OKRs are typically set at company, team and sometimes individual level, with lower levels aligning to (not mechanically cascading from) the level above. A common discipline is to score key results at the end of each cycle and treat consistently perfect scores as a sign the goals were not ambitious enough.
Why it matters
For product teams, OKRs are the bridge between a strategy document and a backlog: they translate direction into measurable commitments that prioritisation can be tested against. They also make trade-offs visible — an initiative that serves no current key result needs an explicit case for why it should proceed. Used honestly, OKRs shift conversations from output (what we shipped) to outcome (what changed).
A product example
A product team whose strategy depends on retention might set the objective 'Make the first month indispensable', with key results such as: increase week-four retention from 22% to 35%; raise the share of new users completing setup within one day from 40% to 70%; and cut median time-to-first-value from 20 minutes to 5.
Documents where this shows up
OKR Framework for Heads of Product · Product Strategy Document for Heads of Product · Product Roadmap for Product Managers
Related terms
KPI (Key Performance Indicator) · North Star Metric · Stakeholder Alignment