Tability is a cheatcode for goal-driven teams. Set perfect OKRs with AI, stay focused on the work that matters.
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.
The best tools for writing perfect Development OKRs
Here are 2 tools that can help you draft your OKRs in no time.
Tability AI: to generate OKRs based on a prompt
Tability AI allows you to describe your goals in a prompt, and generate a fully editable OKR template in seconds.
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Click on the Generate goals using AI
- 3. Describe your goals in a prompt
- 4. Get your fully editable OKR template
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Tability Feedback: to improve existing OKRs
You can use Tability's AI feedback to improve your OKRs if you already have existing goals.
- 1. Create your Tability account
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on Generate analysis
- 4. Review the suggestions and decide to accept or dismiss them
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
Tability 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.
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
OKRs to enhance leadership abilities and foster personal development skills
- ObjectiveEnhance leadership abilities and foster personal development skills
- KRLead a team to successfully complete three project tasks without external aid
- Regularly review progress and provide feedback
- Clearly define task objectives to the team
- Address any performance issues promptly
- KRComplete an advanced leadership course with a score of 80% or above
- Research and enroll in a suitable advanced leadership course
- Regularly study and complete assigned coursework
- Successfully pass all required exams and projects
- KRRead and write summaries for 5 books related to personal development
- Read each book thoroughly, taking relevant notes
- Select five personal development books to read
- Write a summary for each book
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
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
OKRs to expand personal and professional growth
- ObjectiveExpand personal and professional growth
- KREnroll in and complete one personal development course
- Register for the chosen course online or in person
- Consistently attend and participate until the course is completed
- Research and select a personal development course of interest
- KRSet and meet weekly networking goals to meet 20 new people
- Define specific criteria and methods for finding new contacts
- Follow up and connect with new contacts every week
- Dedicate 2 hours daily to networking activities
- KRInitiate and complete two significant projects at work
- Identify two high-priority projects needing completion
- Execute the action plans and monitor progress
- Develop detailed action plans for both projects
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.
Save hours with automated OKR dashboards
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 Tability to save time with automated OKR dashboards, data connectors, and actionable insights.
How to get Tability dashboards:
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Use the importers to add your OKRs (works with any spreadsheet or doc)
- 3. Publish your OKR plan
That's it! Tability will instantly get access to 10+ dashboards to monitor progress, visualise trends, and identify risks early.
More Development OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to improve mastery of behavioral-driven development (BDD)
- OKRs to secure local channels and gain market insights
- OKRs to boost the number of organic demos
- OKRs to increase audience engagement and revenue for the online magazine
- OKRs to successfully launch challenge MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
- OKRs to build a robust and efficient Cloud Center of Excellence