Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
OKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
Summary
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are a staple of Q1 goal setting, but how helpful are OKRs to achieving your team's goals? Are they agile: do they stay relevant in a constantly shifting new normal, or does the process of getting to mutually agreed OKRs suck the innovation out of a team? Join Bria Alexander, DesignOps 2022 curator, in conversation with Design Operations leaders Benson Low, Natalya Pemberton, and Stephanie Goldthorpe to discuss the help (or the harm) in setting OKRs.
Key Insights
-
•
OKRs work best when teams feel ownership of the key results connected to organizational objectives.
-
•
Enforcing OKRs individually across all roles can cause resistance, especially among junior engineers.
-
•
OKRs are as much a mindset and a tool for collaborative alignment as a goal-setting framework.
-
•
Language and framing of OKRs should be customer-centric and value-focused, not solely business outcomes.
-
•
OKRs can foster cross-team conversations about interdependencies that did not exist previously.
-
•
Measurement in OKRs can and should include qualitative, quantitative, milestone-based, and aspirational metrics.
-
•
OKRs may not fit all organizations or teams; in such cases alternative goal-setting tools or prioritization models can be used.
-
•
OKRs should be iterative with regular check-ins allowing teams to pivot based on outcomes and realities.
-
•
Setting too many or unrealistic OKRs can demotivate teams; focus and selectivity are critical.
-
•
Successful OKRs help design leaders secure a seat at the strategic table and influence broader organizational goals.
Notable Quotes
"When teams are connected to real strategic missions and own their key results, OKRs become positive."
"Junior engineers often resent having to create OKRs that feel disconnected from their day-to-day work."
"It's okay to try and mess up your OKRs in the first few quarters and learn from it."
"OKRs are not one-size-fits-all; you have to shape them based on your organizational context and culture."
"Language matters—make your OKRs user-centric and customer-focused to avoid them feeling like overhead."
"OKRs can sometimes suck the oxygen out of the room if they focus only on bottom-line results, missing process and experience."
"Celebrate progress continuously and use OKRs as a learning process to evolve goals and strategies."
"Accessibility is a great example where OKRs can unify multiple product and design teams to a non-negotiable standard."
"OKRs help highlight intentions to leadership and open up conversations that generate alignment and support."
"An OKR coach told us to think of OKRs like a health panel at a physical—you have KPIs for status and OKRs for change targets."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Will you learn to let go? Better yet, will you let go?"
Victor UdoewaBeyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion
March 26, 2024
"Categories are dangerous but not bad."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
"Sometimes you’re too early. Don’t fear. File this away and keep your powder dry."
Sam LadnerHow Research Can Drive Strategic Foresight
March 9, 2022
"Over a third of the company signed in shortly after launch, which felt like a great success."
Michelle Bejian Lotia Anne-Marie MorellRolling Out a Repository: How Zapier Centralizes Insights from Across their Organization
March 28, 2023
"Ratios always start on the premise of spreading people too thin, which is not a great way to get success."
Leisa ReicheltOpening Keynote: Operating in Context
November 7, 2018
"What if I said that this was actually the assignment: to write an essay using AI, helping students become familiar with translating their policy intent through AI?"
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"The output is not a requirements statement but a description of what is happening in the context."
Joerg Beringer Thomas GeisScaling User Research with AI: Continuous Discovery of User Needs in Minutes
September 10, 2025
"Relying on process is not a proxy for quality, and divorcing process from content is a fatal enterprise mistake."
Peter MerholzCustomer-Centered Design Organizations
June 8, 2017
"We have been focused for so long on getting that seat that we haven’t realized that a lot of us are actually already there."
Dalia El-ShimySo You've Got a Seat at the Table. Now What?
March 31, 2020
