The OKR Roadmap: What It Is & How to Use It
OKRs and roadmaps are two of the most important concepts in product management.
- OKRs allow you to set the direction of the product and focus on outcomes.
- Roadmaps allow you to communicate your dependencies, the functionality you will deliver, and typically the timeframe, i.e. in which sprint.
Typically, combining these two worlds while managing the product roadmap is easier said than done. OKRs are driven by outcomes, and roadmaps have typically focused on outputs (or deliverables). So, what is the best way to focus on outcomes, communicate this to stakeholders, and get buy-in? Using an OKR roadmap—and that's exactly what we're covering today!
What Is an OKR Roadmap?
An OKR roadmap is a roadmap that focuses primarily on outcomes and key results. It is designed to steer conversations to focus more on the outcome you want to achieve than specifically on what you will deliver to get there. It allows you to prioritize your tactics based on how they contribute to your objectives.
The major benefit for product development teams is that this allows more flexibility in the approach, and the ability to change deliverables based on what the agile teams learn.
OKR Basics
OKRs were introduced in Google in 1999, who popularized the use of this framework. OKRs stand for: Objectives and Key Results.
Objectives are used to keep product teams focussed on outcomes. It is more important to consider the outcome they will achieve, instead of focussing on what they will deliver.
Key results are used to ensure to set specific strategic goals, that showcase when an agile or kanban team knows they have achieved their product goals.
OKRs have helped lead us to 10x growth, many times over.
Larry Page - co-founder of google
Establishing Objectives & Key Results
Establishing Objectives
To establish objectives, you need to think about what the product team wants to achieve.
The best ways to do this are to:
- Look at the North Star Metric and assess how the team can contribute towards this
- Assess the Product Strategy and product vision and know which elements of this strategy the team members will target and how
- Break down the team’s longer-term objectives into shorter milestones
OKRs are typically set on a quarter-by-quarter basis. However, if you have an important objective that will take longer to achieve results, it’s a good idea to set a longer-term objective. The key results may still be broken down into shorter milestones.
If your North Star Metric (NSM) is focussed on ‘revenue per customer’, then your objective might be ‘increase the number of repeat customers’. This would be one way of increasing revenue per customer already acquired.
An objective should be clear and specific enough that the team has a focus. However, it shouldn’t be so specific that the team's work is already defined for them.
One of the most important things to remember when creating objectives is that they should be outcome-based. Therefore, they shouldn’t establish a deliverable. They talk about what you will achieve and not how you will do it.
Examples of Objectives
Some examples of good objectives are:
- ‘Increase conversion in the USA’
- ‘Increase acquisition of new customers’
- ‘Increase average order value’
They are all focussed on a specific outcome and provide clarity on specifically where to target if this is applicable. However, they do not state how this should happen.
Establishing Key Results
Key results show the exact ways you know you will have been successful in meeting this objective. You can decide whether you just need one or if multiple factors contribute to the success of the objective.
To decide on your key results, you should look at:
- Metrics that contribute to the NSM
- Any key business goals or metrics in the strategic plan that the product development team are contributing to
The more aligned you have with business metrics, the easier it is to prove the impact and success of the product teams’ work.
It is important to state exactly which metrics you will measure, and by how much you want them to change.
Examples of Key Results
Some examples of good key results are:
- ‘Increase conversion in the USA’
- Conversion increased in the USA by 5% (from 2.6% to 2.73%)
- ‘Increase acquisition of new customers’
- New customers acquired through organic channels increased by 23%
- New customers acquired through paid channels to increase by 14%
- ‘Increase average order value’
- Average number of customers attaching ancillary products increased to 3.8% of customers
- Customers upgrading to premium service increased by 12%
These all highlight different levers that you can pull to drive the objective you care about.
How To Use OKRs In Your Roadmap
Using OKRs in your roadmap planning allows you to become more focused on the objectives and key results rather than the actual deliverable itself. Traditionally, product roadmaps were based on project management-style Gantt charts. These often required complex workflows, swimlanes, and agile development plans. Therefore, using OKRs in your visual roadmap means moving away from output-based project roadmaps.
When pursuing outcome-based initiatives, following a product roadmap template like this:
Best Practices
To implement an OKR roadmap, best practices include:
- Use a Now, Next, Later format so you aren’t tied to real-time dates
- Work through one or two (maximum) objectives at a time. If not, create a roadmap for each objective
- Tie any clear initiatives to the objective and key result that they will contribute to
- Brainstorm ideas that contribute to the product goals
- Only add in granularity when you are certain of the tactics you will work on. If not—either state the OKR as the ‘next’ piece of work or put in the detail of the hypotheses or opportunity you will work on if you know it
This allows you to hold strong roadmap presentations and:
- Focus conversations on the big picture and outcomes
- Create flexibility for what is delivered and when
- Have room to tweak product plans based on learnings from discovery and delivery
- Provide granularity and certainty when applicable to support the product development process
There are many ways to create an OKR roadmap. You could use:
- Excel Spreadsheets
- Product roadmap software
- Powerpoints
- Or create your own visual product roadmap
An OKR roadmap creates the perfect balance between a clear direction and plan, and staying focussed on the outcomes and goals you want to achieve.
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