What are Engineering Team 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.
OKRs are quickly gaining popularity as a goal-setting framework. But, it's not always easy to know how to write your goals, especially if it's your first time using OKRs.
To aid you in setting your goals, we have compiled a collection of OKR examples customized for Engineering Team. Take a look at the templates below for inspiration and guidance.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
How to write your own Engineering Team OKRs
Option 1. Turn ideas into OKRs with Tability AI
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.
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Option 2. Optimise existing OKRs with Tability Feedback tool
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.
Option 3. Use the free OKR generator
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.
Engineering Team OKRs examples
We've added many examples of Engineering Team 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 foster continuous improvement on Engineering metrics
ObjectiveFoster continuous improvement on Engineering metrics
KRAchieve a 10% increase in team's average productivity metrics
Introduce incentives for meeting or surpassing productivity goals- Implement training sessions to improve skills and efficiency
- Optimize workflow by eliminating unnecessary procedures
- KRImplement weekly trend analysis reports for every team member
- Schedule and distribute weekly trend analysis to each team member
- Establish report templates to track weekly trends for each team
- Automate data collection and trend analysis processes
- KRReduce error rates in engineering processes by 15%
- Enhance quality control and testing procedures
- Regularly review and improve existing engineering processes
- Implement training programs to update engineering knowledge and skills
OKRs to enhance engineering team's productivity
- ObjectiveEnhance engineering team's productivity
- KRIncrease project completion rate by 20%
- Conduct weekly project progress and status checks
- Implement a detailed project schedule for better tracking
- Provide timely training and resources to team members
- KRImplement a new efficiency-enhancing tool with full adoption by team
- Develop comprehensive training for tool usage for the team
- Select efficiency-enhancing tool based on team's tasks and workflows
- Regularly monitor, assess, and provide feedback on tool usage
- KRReduce engineering errors by 15%
- Enhance collaboration and communication within engineering teams
- Implement regular skill improvement workshops for engineers
- Introduce stringent quality control and testing processes
OKRs to improve interoperability between data engineering teams
- ObjectiveImprove interoperability between data engineering teams
- KROffer biweekly data interoperability training to 90% of data engineering teams
- Identify 90% of data engineering teams for training
- Develop a biweekly interoperability training schedule
- Implement and monitor the data interoperability training
- KRReduce cross-team data discrepancies by 50%, ensuring increased data consistency
- Regularly audit and correct data discrepancies across all teams
- Implement a standardized data entry and management process for all teams
- Utilize data synchronization tools for seamless data integration
- KRImplement standardized data protocols across all teams increasing cross-collaboration by 30%
- Train teams on new standardized protocols
- Identify current data protocols in each team
- Draft and propose unified data protocols
OKRs to enhance workflow efficiency and productivity
- ObjectiveEnhance workflow efficiency and productivity
- KRImplement at least 3 significant improvements identified from the workflow analysis
- Develop strategies to implement these improvements efficiently
- Evaluate success of implemented improvements periodically
- Prioritize the 3 top improvements identified from workflow analysis
- KRReduce workflow steps or stages by 10% to streamline operations
- Implement new workflow and analyze for efficiency improvement
- Review and analyze current processes for unnecessary stages
- Develop a revised workflow eliminating redundant steps
- KRIncrease process efficiency by 20% through process re-engineering
- Identify bottlenecks in the current process
- Train staff on newly engineered process
- Develop a streamlined process blueprint
OKRs to enhance the reliability and efficiency of our infrastructure
- ObjectiveEnhance the reliability and efficiency of our infrastructure
- KRIncrease server response time by 20% for faster processing
- Optimize application code to reduce processing time
- Upgrade server hardware for improved performance
- Implement effective load balancing techniques
- KRImplement an upgrade to the latest networking technology, improving speed by 25%
- KRAchieve a 15% decrease in system downtime incidents
- Implement a robust incident response plan
- Provide routine maintenance and updates to system software
- Assess system regularly for potential vulnerabilities and areas of improvement
OKRs to implement a robust chaos testing system in our production environment
- ObjectiveImplement a robust chaos testing system in our production environment
- KRAchieve 90% system resilience score post chaos testing and fixing identified vulnerabilities
- Develop resolutions for identified system weaknesses
- Measure system resilience post-fix, aiming for 90% score
- Implement chaos testing to identify system vulnerabilities
- KRIdentify and document 10 potential points of system failure by month-end
- Compile findings into comprehensive document
- Review system for possible vulnerabilities or weaknesses
- Record 10 potential failure points
- KRDevelop and deploy chaos experiments to simulate 50% of identified points of failure
- Implement and execute the chaos experiments
- Design chaos experiments to simulate these failures
- Identify the key potential failure points in the system
OKRs to become proficient in Cisco switches configuration and the Headsup app project
- ObjectiveBecome proficient in Cisco switches configuration and the Headsup app project
- KRMaster 100% of training controls and instruments for effective control handling
- Regularly review manual for training controls
- Attend workshops for continuous learning
- Practice using instruments in simulated scenarios
- KRComplete Cisco certification coursework with a grade of 85% or higher
- Set a daily study schedule for coursework
- Enroll in Cisco certification course
- Regularly review and practice course material
- KRSuccessfully run a test project utilizing the Headsup app with zero major errors
- Monitor, find and instantly resolve minor issues, if any
- Plan and execute a simple project using the Headsup app
- Understand the functionality and features of the Headsup app completely
OKRs to enhance the performance of Databricks pipelines
- ObjectiveEnhance the performance of Databricks pipelines
- KRImplement pipeline optimization changes in at least 10 projects
- Start implementing the optimization changes in each project
- Identify 10 projects that require pipeline optimization changes
- Develop an actionable strategy for pipeline optimization
- KRReduce the processing time of pipeline workflows by 30%
- Implement automation for repetitive, time-consuming tasks
- Upgrade hardware to enhance processing speed
- Streamline workflow tasks by eliminating redundant steps
- KRIncrease pipeline data load speed by 25%
- Implement data compression techniques to reduce load times
- Simplify data transformation to improve throughput
- Upgrade current servers to enhance data processing capacity
OKRs to deploy robust reporting platform
- ObjectiveDeploy robust reporting platform
- KRIdentify and integrate relevant data sources into the platform by 50%
- Monitor and adjust integration to achieve 50% completion
- Implement data integration strategies for identified sources
- Identify relevant sources of data for platform integration
- KREnsure 95% of platform uptime with efficient maintenance and quick bug resolution
- Develop fast and effective bug resolution processes
- Implement regular system checks and predictive maintenance
- Monitor platform uptime continuously for efficiency
- KRAchieve user satisfaction rate of 85% through user-friendly design
- Collect user feedback for necessary improvements
- Implement intuitive site navigation and user interface
- Regularly update design based on user feedback
OKRs to improve software system design and logging framework expertise
- ObjectiveImprove software system design and logging framework expertise
- KRCollaborate 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
- KRConduct 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
- KRImplement 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
- KRSuccessfully complete online course on software system design with a passing grade
Engineering Team 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
Having too many OKRs is the #1 mistake that teams make when adopting the framework. The problem with tracking too many competing goals is that it will be hard for your team to know what really matters.
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
Setting good goals can be challenging, but without regular check-ins, your team will struggle to make progress. We recommend that you track your OKRs weekly to get the full benefits from the framework.
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 Engineering Team OKRs
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs 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.
More Engineering Team OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to enhance incident resolution quality by minimizing issue recurrence
- OKRs to increase conversion rate of pre-launch leads for pre-orders by 10%
- OKRs to successfully complete and submit a quality financial report within 5 days
- OKRs to ensure High Uptime
- OKRs to successfully complete the GPU component
- OKRs to implement an effective smart workplace management system