Presentation by Yuval Yeret, 'OKRs & Agile Sitting in a Tree' at the Agile Hartford Meetup Group - September 2023 Struggling to create a healthy synergy between OKRs and Agile/Scrum/SAFe? You're not alone. In this session, we provide a high-level overview of OKRs, identify some common OKR usage issues/anti-patterns, and suggest improvements leveraging Lean/Agile principles and practices. You will learn how to organize around value through an OKR lens. We will understand the connection between OKRs, KPIs, Products / Value Streams, and what that means for leveraging OKRs in the different Scrum/SAFe elements. We will discuss how Evidence-based Management (EBM) can amp up OKR empiricism. By the end of this session, you will understand the relationship between OKRs, Agile, Scrum, SAFe, and EBM and have concrete ideas for how to help your organization leverage them in synergy. Who should attend? Agile Leaders, Coaches, Scrum Masters, team members, and anyone else who cares about sharing Agile mindset and practices to improve the way their organization works.

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Fixing Your OKRs With
Agility
w/ Yuval Yeret

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Yuval Yeret SAFe Fellow/SPCT | Scrum.org PST |
Business Agility Coach/Trainer |
Professional Scrum w/ Kanban Co-creator & Steward

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OKRs - An Example using this session’s objective
Objective Key Results
Fixing Your
OKRs
leveraging
agile ideas,
principles
and
practices
Have a high-level understanding of OKRs - Why / What / How
Be able to describe and identify at least 3 OKR implementation
challenges you might encounter
Be able to describe success patterns to overcome at least 3 OKR
challenges leveraging Agile/Scrum principles and practices
Bonus: Be able to describe how to use Agile/Scrum practices to
help improve any OKR implementation (including outside of
Agile/Scrum context)
Bonus: Be able to pitch agile/agility as a solution to flailing OKR
implementations

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Why OKRs?
In order to execute effectively on what
matters most (your strategy), you will
need to …
Overcome:
► silos, politics and turf wars
► the ongoing grind (aka whirlwind)
Through OKRs that provide
► Organizational Alignment
► Focus

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OKRs - an Alignment Framework
OKRs stand for “Objectives and Key Results.” It is a
collaborative goal-setting methodology used by teams and
individuals to set challenging, ambitious goals with
measurable results. OKRs are how you track progress, create
alignment, and encourage engagement around measurable
goals.
source: https://www.whatmatters.com/faqs/okr-meaning-definition-example

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Why do we need an Alignment framework?

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Business and Transformational OKRs
Transformational OKR - e.g.
Improving Agility
Business OKR - Building Solutions
to capture unrealized Value

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Challenges and Success Patterns with implementing
OKRs

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Everyone gets an OKR!
● Every executive has their
OKRs
● Every team has their
OKRs
● Every individual has their
OKRs
● Everyone gets an OKR!
● Actually – everyone gets
MULTIPLE OKRs!
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Why does it
matter?
Excessive WIP
● Decreases
organizational
productivity
● Confuses priorities
● Increases context
switching
● Impedes the flow of
value
● Everything is important
== Nothing is important
#1. Avoid having too many OKRs
OKRs…

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● Not everything needs to be an OKR!!!
● KPIs - running the business / KTLO
● OKRs - for developing your strategic
differentiators (as measured by significant
impact on a KPI) or dealing with systemic
problems.
● BAU - Other work – not everything needs to map
to an OKR/KPI…
● Start by bringing visibility/transparency to
your OKR overload
● Categorize current OKRs based on
whether they should actually be featured
as OKRs or KPIs (or not).
Apply Focus/Flow - Stop Starting Start
Finishing
#1. Try to choose fewer OKRs focused on THE most important
opportunities for Developing/Growing the Business (WIGs)

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BTW - What can we also say about the work
to Develop/Grow the Business (vs running
it)?
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OKRs typically require
complex work…
Try … mapping out OKRs according to level of
agreement/uncertainty on the WHAT/HOW
What have we learned about managing
complex work? What works? What doesn’t?

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#2. Avoid … Output/Activity focused (tasks / milestones) OKRs
Why does it matter?
● Remember - OKRs typically live
in the complex domain
● Fixes specifications/designs too
early
● Conducive to “Feature Factory”
● Impediment to Autonomy and
Innovation
Output-focused OKRs
Objective: Release ALICE v1
Key Results:
● Develop Rear and Side Camera
Distance Warning
● Fix 10 major/critical defects
● ALICE Gold Subscription
● Customer onboarding wizard

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Try using OKRs to provide clear intent
Output-focused OKRs Outcome-focused OKRs Well-formed Outcome-focused
OKRs
Objective: Release ALICE v1 Objective: Increase market
position within the autonomous
delivery market
Objective: Achieve a dominant
position within the autonomous
delivery market
Key Results: Key Results: Key Results:
● Develop Rear and
Side Camera
Distance Warning
● Ability to deliver in
dense metro areas
through parallel
parking
● Increase serviceable
market to 75%
including dense metro
areas
● Fix 10 major/critical
defects
● Improve customer
satisfaction rating
● Increase Net
Promoter Score from
35 to 60
● ALICE Gold
Subscription
● Focus on driving
repeat business
● Improve repeat
business rates from
60% to 80%
● Customer onboarding
wizard
● Onboard new
customers
● Acquire 15% new
customers over the
next 12 months
1. Assess your current OKRs -
create some transparency to
your current OKR maturity
2. Shift over time towards
outcome-focus Objectives
and eventually KRs
3. When looking at an
output/task OKR - Ask Five
Whys to get to the desired
outcome…
Assume Variability - Preserve Options
Decentralized Control / Autonomy
Customer collaboration over Contract
Negotiation

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OKRs as Bets
Inspecting and adapting HOW (to achieve a
goal)
• what’s needed to achieve a Key Result?
Inspecting and adapting the WHAT/WHY (the
goal itself)
• The relevance of the Key Result or even
the Objective itself

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Thinking in Bets

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#3. Avoid OKR Command and Control - Too Detailed, Too
Strict, Top-Down Cascading
Why does it matter?
● Strict Cascading
kills Autonomy /
Initiative
● Leads to
task/output
orientation by the
time teams create
KRs
OKR
OKR OKR
OKR
OKR
OKR
OKR

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What’s the difference between OKRs and MBO?
https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/okr-and-mbo-difference-between

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Use OKRs as an Alignment framework that enables
autonomy
https://engineering.atspotify.com/2014/03/spotify-engineering-culture-part-1/

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#4. Alignment != Command & Control
Try
● High-level OKRs that
inform rather than
prescribe
● Teams / Teams of
teams define their
own OKRs -
Bottom-up and
sideways
● Align/relate through
“Why Now”
● Take inspiration from
Scrum Sprint
Planning structure
OKR
OKR OKR
OKR
OKR
OKR
OKR

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#5. Try to Avoid - OKRs coordination hell
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/improving-focus-alignment-organizing-around-okrs-managing-yuval-yeret
/
Why does it matter?
● Coordination overhead
● Tempting to divide and conquer /
cascade into output/task OKRs (since
each team/product/value stream cannot
own outcomes)

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▪ Experiment with organizing teams around OKRs -
Identifying/
Assessing products/teams topology using an OKR
lens
▪ You can start with 1-2 experiments around OKRs
while keeping the rest of the organization as is.
▪ It doesn’t have to be an organizational change
▪ There will never be a perfect way to organize that
eliminates all dependencies/collaboration.
▪ use techniques from the agile scaling
patterns/frameworks world to help ease
collaboration across teams (e.g. Big Room
Planning)
Organizing around value unlocks engagement/ motivation
through Purpose
#5. Try organizing around OKRs

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#5. OKRs are in conflict with agile/Scrum
artifacts/commitments
● Confusion - What do we use as Input
for Sprint Planning? PBL? OKRs?
Both?
● When are OKRs created? How? How
do we keep them realistic?
● What’s the relationship between
Product Goals, Sprint Goals and
OKRs?
OKRs (Product /
Corporate / Strategy)
Agile/Scrum (typically
in IT / Product
Development)

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#5. Explicitly connect OKRs and your agile ways of working
Some options to try:
● Use OKRs to guide PBL
management/refinement
● Inspect how you’re doing
on OKRs during Sprint
Review and use that to
adapt the Product
Backlog
OKRs
KPIs

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Bonus: Let’s take a look at SAFe’s perspective on OKRs
● Strategic Themes
● Epic-level
initiatives
● Be intentional
about your
transformational
goals using OKRs

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Case Study - Big Room OKR Term Planning (Does this look familiar to anybody?)
When What Facilitator Outcome Location
30m
Quarterly Planning Adjustment
Guidance for Team
Quarterly OKR
finalization
Main room
2-3h
Teams finalize Quarterly OKRs
Individual
Team
Breakouts
Leadership
Team
circulates and
available to
give feedback
/ answer
question
Updated Quarterly OKRs
Assigned Breakout
Rooms
1-2h
Final Quarterly OKRs Review
Align on Final Quarterly
OKRs
Main room
LUNCH
1h
Risks Management &
Confidence Vote
Determine what part of
Quarterly Plan still needs
work
Main room
As needed
Rework as needed
(if short - plenar. if this is
in-depth will be in breakouts /
open space mode)
Final Quarterly Plan Main room
30m
Retrospective / Closing
Documented learnings
for next cycle
Main room
Length What Facilitator Outcome Location
15m
Opening / Overview
Clarity on purpose/
approach to Planning
Main room
30m
Reiterate Company OKRs
Leadership
Team
Clarity on annual +
Quarterly Company
OKRs
Main room
2h
Teams draft realistic Quarterly
OKRs
Individual
Team
Breakouts
facilitated by
SMs/POs
Team Quarterly Draft
OKRs
Assigned
Breakout
15m
Leadership Team + PO -
Huddle
Plan how to collaborate
cross-team around
dependencies
Leadership
Breakout room
1h LUNCH (Opportunity to connect across teams or continue to plan in
teams)
room
Breakouts
1h
Teams draft realistic Quarterly
OKRs (continued)
Individual
Team
Breakouts
facilitated by
POs
Team Quarterly Draft
OKRs
Assigned
Breakouts
1-2h
Review Team Quarterly Draft
OKRs - Lightning round
readout from each team +
Confidence Vote
Feedback on Quarterly
OKRs
Main room
1h
Leadership Team + PO -
Review & Problem Solving
Adjustments / Guidance
for Day 2
Leadership
Breakout
Day 1 Day 2

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How about SAFe’s PI Planning?
Try…
● Using OKRs to
guide Feature
creation and
prioritization
● Considering
OKRs draft until
PIP
● After PIP refine
OKRs based on
PI Objectives
● Bring Objectives
to PIP as input,
create KRs as
PIP output

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Can we use Scrum/Agile
principles and practices to
improve how our organization
uses OKRs?
Can that help us bring agile
ways of thinking to the wider
organization?
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Follow up
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuvalyeret/
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/applying-okrs-in-the-scaled-a
gile-framework/
https://scaled
agile.com/con
necting-okrs-k
pis-ovss-and-
dvss-in-safe/
Loan
Origination
Credit Scoring
System AI Underwriting
Channels
Core
Bankin
g
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/imp
roving-focus-alignment-organizing-
around-okrs-managing-yuval-yeret/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fixing-o
kr-theater-using-agilescrum-principles-
yuval-yeret/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/improving-f
ocus-alignment-organizing-around-okrs-m
anaging-yuval-yeret/
https://www.scrum.o
rg/resources/eviden
ce-based-managem
ent-guide
https://www.scrum.org/courses/professional-
agile-leadership-evidence-based-manageme
nt-training

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If you want my help…
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Learn about Evidence-Based Management and
how to leverage it to improve your OKR operating
system
https://yuvalyeret.com/agility-consulting-training/get-professional-about-scrum-and-kanban/scrum
-org-professional-agile-leadership-evidence-based-management-training/
Launch or Boost your OKR operating system with
emphasis on Empiricism, Empowerment, Organizing
around Value, and Lean/Agile principles
https://yuvalyeret.com/agility-consulting-training/strategic-alignment-and-execution-at-sc
ale-leveraging-okrs/