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tability.ioWhat are It Costs 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.
Formulating strong OKRs can be a complex endeavor, particularly for first-timers. Prioritizing outcomes over projects is crucial when developing your plans.
We've tailored a list of OKRs examples for It Costs to help you. You can look at any of the templates below to get some inspiration for your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
It Costs OKRs examples
You'll find below a list of Objectives and Key Results templates for It Costs. We also included strategic projects for each template to make it easier to understand the difference between key results and projects.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to optimize IT costs by reducing expenses by 20%
- ObjectiveReduce IT expenses by 20%
- KRAnalyze previous quarter expenses and identify areas for cost reduction
- Determine cost-saving opportunities
- Identify spending patterns
- Review expenses
- Implement cost reduction measures
- KREducate employees on cost-saving practices and enforce IT policies
- Regularly remind staff of cost-cutting policies
- Contain training sessions for IT policy adoption
- Monitor employee compliance with IT policies and address non-compliance
- Hold information sessions about cost-saving practices
- KRNegotiate with vendors for better pricing
- Research vendor's competitors and their rates
- Highlight your previous purchasing history with them
- Offer to sign a long-term contract for a discount
- Ask for a volume discount based on the forecasted quantity
- KRImplement solutions and track savings
- Identify opportunities for cost reduction
- Implement cost-saving solutions
- Track and report realized savings
- Prioritize solutions based on potential savings
OKRs to efficiently eliminate the existing datacenter to minimize costs
- ObjectiveEfficiently eliminate the existing datacenter to minimize costs
- KRReduce data center infrastructure costs by 20% through efficient decommissioning
- Identify underutilized or outdated equipment for decommissioning
- Evaluate effectiveness of current data center infrastructure
- Implement efficient decommissioning processes to reduce costs
- KRAchieve 30% cost savings by transitioning to cloud-based services
- Analyze cost comparison between current and cloud-based services
- Develop and implement transition plan to cloud services
- Identify potential cloud-based service providers
- KRTrain IT team to manage new services, increasing operational efficiency by 25%
- Evaluate performance improvements post-training
- Identify necessary training for IT team for new services
- Schedule and conduct IT training sessions
How to write your own It Costs OKRs
1. Get tailored OKRs with an AI
You'll find some examples below, but it's likely that you have very specific needs that won't be covered.
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 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.
It Costs 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 It Costs 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
Most teams should start with a spreadsheet if they're using OKRs for the first time. Then, once you get comfortable you can graduate to a proper OKRs-tracking tool.
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 It Costs OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
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