OKR examples for product teams: objectives and key results

You

The board meets tomorrow. The vision opens the first slide. The second one is the objectives, and Ian thinks they look thin.

Ian

Two objectives, one number each. Someone will ask how we'll know by spring that we're on track, not next December when it's too late.

Alex Tutor

He's asking for key results. A common way to write them down is OKR: objectives and key results. The objective says in words what you want to achieve. The key results show how you'll know you got there.

You

So “grow subscription revenue by keeping subscribers longer” is the objective, and “churn from 9% to 6%” is a key result?

Alex Tutor

Exactly. A key result is a measurable outcome with a baseline and a target. Two to four per objective, so one number doesn't have to carry the whole story.

You

Churn alone isn't enough?

Alex Tutor

Churn is a lagging number: by the time it moves, months have passed. Pair it with signals that move earlier, like the share of cancellations that cite running out. That one reacts within weeks.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Which of these is a key result, rather than an objective or an output?

Choose one answerKeep subscribers longerThe share of cancellations that cite running out falls from 30% to 15%Launch reorder reminders by MarchReplace the warehouse system

Brandon

Can my key result be “launch the clinic ordering portal by June”? That's something I can show PurrPoint.

You

That's an output with a date. We've met a few of those.

Alex Tutor

Right. A key result measures a change, not a delivery. If the portal launches and clinics still run out, the key result is green and the problem is still there.

Brandon

So what do I put instead?

Alex Tutor

What should be different at PurrPoint if it works? Fewer stock-outs, fewer phone orders. Measure those. The portal is one way to get there; the pilot will show whether it's the best one.

You

And where do all the “launch” items go?

Alex Tutor

Under the themes as candidate solutions, and into the release plan once chosen. Quick test: if you can tick it off while nobody's behavior has changed, it's a task.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

“Launch the clinic ordering portal by June” is a good key result, because it is specific and has a date.

TrueFalse

You

For the clinics I want a key result about phone orders. But nobody knows how many there are. “Every week, one clinic at a time” is all we have.

Alex Tutor

Then don't invent a number. A key result without a real baseline is a guess with a percent sign.

You

Should I drop it?

Alex Tutor

No. Make measuring it the first step. The two pilot clinics can count their phone orders for a month; then you set the target on real numbers.

And keep the source next to every baseline, like in your input summary. If a number covers only one month, say so.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Brandon suggests a key result: “Clinic admins spend less time ordering.” Nobody has measured how much time they spend now. What is the best next step?

Choose one answerDrop it: anything that hasn't been measured can't be a key resultAssume two hours a week so the key result looks completeMeasure it in the two pilot clinics first, then set the targetReplace it with “launch the clinic portal”, which is easier to track

You

Let me list the ones we can measure today: partner clinics from 54 to 80, all 14 PurrPoint clinics kept, stock-outs from 6 a month to 1.

Alex Tutor

Good mix. The number of clinics is the lagging one; stock-outs move first, and PurrPoint tells you whether the biggest client stays.

Lucy

And the warehouse replacement? It's months of my team's work, and no customer will ever see it. Does it get a key result?

Alex Tutor

Not as “replace the warehouse system”: that's an output. But it's what lets stock-outs fall and 80 clinics be served. Link it to those key results, and everyone sees why it matters.

You

So enabling work is judged by the key results it unlocks.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which of these are good key results for the objective “Grow the vet clinic channel”? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyPartner clinics grow from 54 to 80Build the clinic ordering portalPrescription-diet stock-outs in partner clinics fall from 6 a month to 1Hold 12 meetings with clinic directorsAll 14 PurrPoint clinics are retainedThe clinic channel is improved

Lucy

At my last job we had thirty OKRs, cascaded from the CEO down to every team. We spent more time updating the spreadsheet than building anything.

Alex Tutor

Two classic failures at once. Too many objectives means no priorities. And cascading copies top-level numbers down without asking teams what they can actually move.

You

What's the better way?

Alex Tutor

Two or three objectives. Leadership sets them, teams propose the key results they can influence, and the two meet in the middle. Then check that every key result measures a change, not a task.

You

Output key results, too many OKRs, cascading from the top. Is there a fourth?

Alex Tutor

Tie them to pay, and people set targets they know they can beat. We'll come back to that one. I suspect Ian is about to ask.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

Match each common OKR failure to the symptom it causes.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

Output key results
Too many OKRs
Cascading from the top
Tying OKRs to bonuses

Answers left to place

You

Eighty clinics feels like a stretch. Losing PurrPoint would be a disaster. Are those really the same kind of target?

Alex Tutor

No. Many teams separate committed key results, which they expect to hit in full, from aspirational ones, where getting about 70% of the way is already a good result.

You

So PurrPoint is committed, and 80 clinics is aspirational.

Alex Tutor

That's how I'd mark them. Say it on the slide, or the board will read every number as a promise.

You

Like a disclaimer, but for numbers.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. Set the key results for next year and check them every quarter. If quarterly OKRs appear later, they should be checkpoints towards these, not a new list.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

CatChow can't afford to lose any PurrPoint clinic, while 80 partner clinics is a stretch nobody is sure about. How should Sofia mark these two key results?

Choose one answerPurrPoint retention as committed, 80 clinics as aspirationalBoth as committed, so the team takes both seriouslyBoth as aspirational, so nobody is blamed for missing themDrop the 80 clinics, since nobody is sure it can be reached

Alex Tutor

Back to Brandon's portal. He still needs something for PurrPoint, and the clinic theme still needs a key result that shows the pilot is working.

You

Stock-outs are already there. What else would show that clinics restock without phoning us?

Alex Tutor

The share of their orders that arrive without a call. Today that's zero, so here you do have a baseline.

You

And the target? Everything online within a year sounds unrealistic.

Alex Tutor

Then make it aspirational and say so. Write the key results so that PurrPoint's admins would recognize their own week in them.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Rewrite Brandon's “Launch the clinic ordering portal by June” as 1–2 key results that measure outcomes, each with a baseline and a target, and mark each one committed or aspirational.

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Ian

I like it. One idea for the board: let's tie the team's bonuses to hitting these key results. Nothing motivates like money.

You

That's the fourth failure. How do I tell the CEO no the day before the board?

Alex Tutor

Don't argue with the motive: he wants people to care. Show what would happen instead: safe targets, no bad news reported, aspirational key results quietly dropped.

You

And offer something instead?

Alex Tutor

Yes. Keep performance reviews separate from OKR scores, and reward honest reporting and what the team learns. Two or three sentences: he's the CEO.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

Ian wants to tie the team's bonuses to hitting the key results. Write Sofia's reply to him (2–3 sentences): acknowledge what he wants, explain the risk and offer an alternative.

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Alex Tutor

Now put the “why” layer together: the inputs, the vision with its value proposition, and the objectives with key results. That's version 2 of the roadmap.

You

The themes and timeframes stay as they are?

Alex Tutor

For now. In the next module we'll rebuild the themes from customer needs. Today, just make sure every theme moves at least one key result.

You

And if I can't measure something yet, I say so.

Alex Tutor

Yes. An honest gap is better than an invented number, especially in front of a board.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Write the “why” layer of CatChow's roadmap, version 2.

It's the day before CatChow's board meeting. Sofia is writing version 2 of the roadmap: the “why” layer that sits above the themes. Here is everything she has.

The business. CatChow sells cat food with home delivery. Its subscription has existed for years; keeping subscribers now matters more than signing up new ones, and monthly churn is 9%. The vet clinic channel is young: 54 partner clinics, 14 of them from the PurrPoint chain, all ordering prescription diets by phone.

Customers.

Subscribers: 30% of those who cancel say the food ran out before the next delivery or deliveries didn't fit their schedule.
First-time buyers: 38% place a second order within 60 days.
New cat owners: support gets about 250 calls a month from owners unsure which food to choose.
Partner clinics: the clinic director or the procurement team signs the contract; admins place the orders every week. Prescription diets ran out in partner clinics 6 times last month. Vets decide which diet a cat needs.
Nobody has counted how many phone orders the clinics place.

Stakeholders.

Ian (CEO): priorities are subscription revenue and the vet clinic channel; wants something the board can check by spring.
Brandon (key account manager): PurrPoint agreed to a pilot in two clinics, starting in November, instead of a dated feature. He proposes the key result “launch the clinic ordering portal by June”.
Lucy (tech lead): the warehouse system must be replaced before clinic volumes grow.
Support: hears the “which food?” calls and the cancellation reasons.

Draft vision: every cat eats the right food, and neither owners nor vet clinics ever have to worry about running out.

Objectives in version 1: grow subscription revenue by keeping subscribers longer (churn from 9% to 6%); grow the vet clinic channel (from 54 to 80 partner clinics, all 14 PurrPoint clinics retained).

Write the “why” layer (250–450 words):

A short input summary: the life cycle stage of each part of the business and what it means for the roadmap; the customers, including buyer and user at the clinics; the key stakeholders and what each needs.
The product vision in one line and a value proposition for one customer group.
Two objectives, each with 2–3 key results written as outcomes, with a baseline and a target. Mark each key result committed or aspirational. Where a baseline is missing, say how you will get it.
One key result you rejected because it measures an output, and why.

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You

Tomorrow Ian can answer “why these two?” with inputs, “where are we going?” with the vision, and “how will we know?” with key results.

Alex Tutor

That's the whole “why” layer. The board gets reasons it can check, not just a plan.

Alex Tutor

That wraps up module 2. In module 3 we'll go from needs to themes: journey maps, the opportunity solution tree and job stories, then timeframes and confidence.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Customer needs as themes