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
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
"Don’t read canned questions during interviews; make it conversational and human."
Corey LongHiring in DesignOps: A Critical Study on How to Hire and Get Hired
September 23, 2024
"Invite yourself to the table by bringing actual deliverables, like storyboards and prototypes."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"If you wait for permission, you will probably never be granted it. Just start doing what you know to be the right thing."
Lori Muszynski Peter MerholzKeeping Design Weird
October 2, 2023
"Remote testing helps get closer to real-world results because users are in environments customized for them."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
June 9, 2021
"Users are smart, innovative, and a lot of the innovation actually comes from users rather than big companies."
Prayag Narula Rida QadriHCI 2.0: Humanity Deserves the Attention that UX Research has to Offer
March 28, 2023
"Assessing feedback urgency means understanding if the issue blocks critical work or if there are workarounds."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024
"Empathic data is the most accessible starting point for people who are not trained researchers."
Lija HoganDoing more with more: Lessons from the Front Lines of Democratization
March 9, 2022
"There isn’t a time I can remember where there wasn’t a computer talking to me."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
March 11, 2022
"You don’t have to take notes; session videos and decks will be shared as soon as possible."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
October 3, 2023
