Great article ! I also use OKR for my personal life + company but but don't you feel that it can sometimes take away from the meaning? I'm thinking about some topics here, for example I measure for a personal goal "Reduce my general stress level" KRs on the number of hours of meditation per week and the number of hours of sport per week but I quickly find myself in a loop where I end up stressing more if I don't reach these KRs and finally I'm counterproductive on the goal. Same thing on creative subjects of corporate communication or design it seems to me difficult to measure the performance here while sometimes a moment of inspiration can make 80% of the result.
Thanks for your comment! I agree that measuring the reduction of stress with a stretch key result can be stressful! I don't think it's a drawback from the OKR methodology. The problem is more on your stress level related to reaching a KR - or working in general. I remember being stressed about achieving some key results or the company's objectives. My then solution was to brute force the problem by adding more work hours. I then discovered how extreme life is and that 1% of our work can generate 100% of the outcomes. It's especially true in a creative field. I'm now more relax. I know that if I keep working, keep being creative, then work will pay off and I will reach my OKR.
I agree that OKRs are useful for company-wide goals, but I also believe that there can be limits to what it can apply to. Some things that are really important are hard to put in deadline-based metrics. For instance, writing high quality code is very important for service availability in the long run, but the service availability you measure in a quarter is only partially linked to the quality of software written during this quarter. It is largely the result of the quality of software written in the previous years. So the quality of work done by developers can only be seen in the long run and I think it’s pretty impossible to create a correct metric incentive. The best thing that can be done is I think to create a “culture of quality” so that people write quality code in a “pay it forward” way.
I agree. Like all goal-setting frameworks, it has limits and performance shouldn't be reduced to metrics. For instance, it's vital for long-term performance to work with kind and honest teammates. It can however hardly be measured directly. There are some proxies, although imperfect, such as Employee NPS. OKR is a crucial tool to create alignment and focus, but it has to be included in a broader strategy to drive performance.
What would be your take on "qualitative code metrics" such a SonarQube's ? It might not be perfect but it worked fairly well for my team and really helped them focus more on quality
I haven't tried this specific tool but I believe metrics like coverage, code duplication, etc. they provide can indeed be useful. We just need to think critically and remember that some things, which can in fact be very important, are always missed by metrics.
Great article ! I also use OKR for my personal life + company but but don't you feel that it can sometimes take away from the meaning? I'm thinking about some topics here, for example I measure for a personal goal "Reduce my general stress level" KRs on the number of hours of meditation per week and the number of hours of sport per week but I quickly find myself in a loop where I end up stressing more if I don't reach these KRs and finally I'm counterproductive on the goal. Same thing on creative subjects of corporate communication or design it seems to me difficult to measure the performance here while sometimes a moment of inspiration can make 80% of the result.
Thanks for your comment! I agree that measuring the reduction of stress with a stretch key result can be stressful! I don't think it's a drawback from the OKR methodology. The problem is more on your stress level related to reaching a KR - or working in general. I remember being stressed about achieving some key results or the company's objectives. My then solution was to brute force the problem by adding more work hours. I then discovered how extreme life is and that 1% of our work can generate 100% of the outcomes. It's especially true in a creative field. I'm now more relax. I know that if I keep working, keep being creative, then work will pay off and I will reach my OKR.
Yes I got the idea, as said in your essay the real work is about taking the time to define your OKRs properly and see what scope they fit best.
Btw congrats on the wedding, lots of happiness!
I agree that OKRs are useful for company-wide goals, but I also believe that there can be limits to what it can apply to. Some things that are really important are hard to put in deadline-based metrics. For instance, writing high quality code is very important for service availability in the long run, but the service availability you measure in a quarter is only partially linked to the quality of software written during this quarter. It is largely the result of the quality of software written in the previous years. So the quality of work done by developers can only be seen in the long run and I think it’s pretty impossible to create a correct metric incentive. The best thing that can be done is I think to create a “culture of quality” so that people write quality code in a “pay it forward” way.
I agree. Like all goal-setting frameworks, it has limits and performance shouldn't be reduced to metrics. For instance, it's vital for long-term performance to work with kind and honest teammates. It can however hardly be measured directly. There are some proxies, although imperfect, such as Employee NPS. OKR is a crucial tool to create alignment and focus, but it has to be included in a broader strategy to drive performance.
What would be your take on "qualitative code metrics" such a SonarQube's ? It might not be perfect but it worked fairly well for my team and really helped them focus more on quality
I haven't tried this specific tool but I believe metrics like coverage, code duplication, etc. they provide can indeed be useful. We just need to think critically and remember that some things, which can in fact be very important, are always missed by metrics.
Planning a wedding ? :)
Yep, I'm getting married. I'm planning to write about it soon :)