Tability is a cheatcode for goal-driven teams. Set perfect OKRs with AI, stay focused on the work that matters.
What are Software 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.
Creating impactful OKRs can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. Shifting your focus from projects to outcomes is key to successful planning.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Software Team to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
The best tools for writing perfect Software Team OKRs
Here are 2 tools that can help you draft your OKRs in no time.
Tability AI: to generate OKRs based on a prompt
Tability AI allows you to describe your goals in a prompt, and generate a fully editable OKR template in seconds.
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Click on the Generate goals using AI
- 3. Describe your goals in a prompt
- 4. Get your fully editable OKR template
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Tability Feedback: to improve existing OKRs
You can use Tability's AI feedback to improve your OKRs if you already have existing goals.
- 1. Create your Tability account
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on Generate analysis
- 4. Review the suggestions and decide to accept or dismiss them
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
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.
Software Team OKRs examples
We've added many examples of Software 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 establish a high-performance software development team
ObjectiveEstablish a high-performance software development team
KRImplement weekly team-building exercises to boost team collaboration and morale
Assign a team member to facilitate each exercise- Schedule weekly time slots for team-building activities
- Research effective team-building exercises suitable for the team
- KRRecruit and onboard five experienced software developers by the end of the quarter
- Post job listings on industry-related job search platforms
- Facilitate onboarding process for selected individuals
- Shortlist and interview potential candidates
- KRAchieve a 90% or higher satisfaction rate in quarterly team feedback surveys
- Improve on constructive feedback from previous surveys
- Implement regular team bonding and communication drills
- Address individual team member concerns promptly
OKRs to enhance tactical and strategic leadership skills for software developer team lead
- ObjectiveEnhance tactical and strategic leadership skills for software developer team lead
- KRMentor 2 team members to take on micro-leadership roles in the next project
- Provide regular feedback and coaching
- Share responsibilities and explain expectations clearly
- Identify strengths and areas of growth for each team member
- KRImplement new strategies and witness a minimum 15% increase in team productivity
- Develop and communicate new strategies for identified areas
- Identify areas in team processes that require improvement
- Monitor and measure strategy-driven productivity increases
- KRCollaborate with HR to attend at least 3 leadership skill training or workshops
- Contact HR to inquire about available leadership training opportunities
- Participate actively in each workshop session
- Schedule times to attend three chosen sessions
OKRs to enhance product cyber security for the software team
- ObjectiveEnhance product cyber security for the software team
- KRTrain 100% of software team on latest cyber security practices
- Schedule the training for the software team
- Identify suitable cyber security training programs
- Monitor and ensure full participation
- KRReduce security breaches by 30%
- Implement regular staff training on data security practices
- Invest in advanced cybersecurity software systems
- Regularly update and patch all software systems
- KRImplement two factor authentication on all team systems
- Purchase or subscribe to the chosen authentication system
- Research suitable two factor authentication systems for our needs
- Train team members on how to use new authentication system
OKRs to improve first contact and software resolution rates
- ObjectiveImprove first contact and software resolution rates
- KREnhance service team skills to achieve 85% first contact resolution
- Regularly assess skill levels for improvements
- Utilize feedback for continued skill enhancement
- Implement comprehensive training programs for service team
- KRStandardize and inculcate one optimal working method across all operational levels
- Develop comprehensive training programs for the method
- Monitor and enforce compliance across all levels
- Identify one optimal working method that enhances productivity
- KRDevelop and implement a robust software solution within 6 hours
- Create an efficient development schedule
- Define the software requirements and objectives
- Initiate immediate testing and debugging
OKRs to enhance leadership abilities in developing new software functionalities
- ObjectiveEnhance leadership abilities in developing new software functionalities
- KRAchieve over 95% positive feedback in the team's quarterly performance review
- Consistently offer constructive feedback and support to team members
- Implement regular training and development sessions
- Improve team communication and collaboration regularly
- KRComplete advanced leadership course in software development by quarter end
- Dedicate a few hours each day for coursework and study
- Enroll in advanced leadership software development course
- Finish and submit all assignments before course deadline
- KRLead a team to successfully deliver a new feature without delays
- Effectively delegate tasks according to team strengths
- Establish regular check-ins to monitor task progress
- Clearly define the feature requirements and scope of work
OKRs to enhance accuracy in story estimation by software engineering team
- ObjectiveEnhance accuracy in story estimation by software engineering team
- KRAchieve 90% team satisfaction rate with the improved estimation process
- Implement weekly training sessions for the new estimation process
- Consistently communicate the benefits of the new process
- Collect feedback and make necessary improvements
- KRReduce average estimation error to less than 10% in next 100 tasks
- Implement more accurate estimation tools and techniques
- Review and adjust estimations after each task
- Train team on precision estimation strategies
- KRTrain 100% of the team on advanced estimation techniques and methods
- Follow up on training outcomes and comprehension
- Schedule team members for training sessions
- Identify appropriate advanced estimation training course
OKRs to establish a high-performing software development team
- ObjectiveEstablish a high-performing software development team
- KRImplement a comprehensive team training program, ensuring 100% completion
- Set a system to track and ensure every team member completes training
- Develop engaging and effective training content for the team
- Identify necessary skills and knowledge to include in the training program
- KRIdentify and hire five skilled software developers by achieving a hiring efficiency rate of 70%
- Implement an effective interviewing and hiring protocol
- Conduct efficient candidate screening processes
- Develop a detailed job post for skilled software developers
- KRDeliver the first software project successfully, maintaining less than 10% bug ratio
- Establish robust coding and QA protocols for minimal errors
- Prioritize bugs and fix high-priority ones promptly
- Implement frequent testing cycles to identify bugs
OKRs to successfully transition the software team to unit testing processes
- ObjectiveSuccessfully transition the software team to unit testing processes
- KRImplement unit testing in 75% of ongoing development projects
- Identify ongoing projects to incorporate unit testing
- Train development team in unit testing
- Implement unit testing in selected projects
- KRAchieve 30% reduction in post-release bugs due to incorporation of unit testing
- Implement comprehensive unit testing in development process
- Train developers on effective unit testing strategies
- Regularly review and improve the unit tests
- KRSuccessfully complete comprehensive unit testing training for 100% of team members
- Identify suitable comprehensive unit testing training courses
- Monitor and ensure all team members complete the course
- Enroll all team members in the chosen course
OKRs to improve software development team leadership effectiveness
- ObjectiveImprove software development team leadership effectiveness
- KRImprove team efficiency by implementing agile practices and metrics to track progress
- Conduct training on Agile practices and ensure all team members understand the principles
- Implement regular stand-up meetings to enhance communication, identify obstacles, and resolve them promptly
- Utilize Agile metrics like velocity and burndown charts to track progress and optimize productivity
- Establish clear goals and prioritize tasks using Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban
- KRFoster effective communication and collaboration within the team to drive successful project delivery
- Promote cross-functional collaboration by assigning individuals from different departments to work together
- Utilize project management tools and software to streamline communication and document sharing
- Implement regular team meetings to discuss project updates, challenges, and opportunities
- Encourage open and honest communication to foster a collaborative and trusting environment
- KRIncrease team satisfaction and engagement through regular feedback and recognition
- KREnhance technical skills by facilitating ongoing training programs and knowledge sharing sessions
OKRs to enhance the quality of software releases through manual testing
- ObjectiveEnhance the quality of software releases through manual testing
- KRIncrease manual test case effectiveness by 25%
- Provide continuous training for manual testing techniques
- Implement peer reviews for manual test case validation
- Develop exhaustive, realistic use-cases scenarios for better test coverage
- KRReduce critical bugs in live software by 15%
- Implement rigorous testing procedures before software deployment
- Regularly update and debug software code base
- Train developers in best practices for bug prevention
- KRRaise manual test coverage for each release to at least 95%
- Identify areas of software currently lacking full manual testing
- Develop comprehensive manual test plans for those areas
- Train team to execute new test plans efficiently
Software 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.
Save hours with automated OKR dashboards
Quarterly OKRs should have weekly updates to get all the benefits from the 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 Tability to save time with automated OKR dashboards, data connectors, and actionable insights.
How to get Tability dashboards:
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Use the importers to add your OKRs (works with any spreadsheet or doc)
- 3. Publish your OKR plan
That's it! Tability will instantly get access to 10+ dashboards to monitor progress, visualise trends, and identify risks early.
More Software Team OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to increase the sprint story points burnt down
- OKRs to foster continuous improvement on Engineering metrics
- OKRs to achieve a high passing grade in my first semester of English class
- OKRs to successfully strategize the organic and paid social launch of our new brand
- OKRs to reduce the number of UX issues found in production
- OKRs to streamline policy and clinical documentation variations