The OKR Scoring System is a way to measure and evaluate the progress of key results within an OKR cycle. It helps teams and organizations assess how well they’ve achieved their set objectives and key results, providing clarity on whether they are on track or need to make adjustments.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of how the OKR scoring system works and different approaches to scoring:
1. Traditional Scoring System: 0-1 Scale
This is a simple and widely used scoring system, where each key result is scored based on its completion status.
- 0.0: Key result has not been started or has made no progress.
- 0.3: Key result has made some progress but is far from being completed (e.g., initial phases of work have been done).
- 0.6: Key result is halfway to completion, with significant progress made.
- 0.8: Key result is nearly complete, with only minor work left to do.
- 1.0: Key result is fully achieved and completed as intended.
Example:
- Key Result: Increase revenue by 25%.
- Progress so far: 18% increase in revenue → score 0.7.
2. Percentage-Based Scoring
Some organizations prefer to score key results based on the percentage of completion. This is more granular and may better reflect incremental progress, especially for measurable key results.
- 0% (0.0): No progress or completely off-track.
- 25% (0.25): Minimal progress made, but little to no tangible results.
- 50% (0.5): Moderate progress made, some key deliverables completed but not at full scale.
- 75% (0.75): Significant progress made, close to the finish line.
- 100% (1.0): Key result fully achieved.
Example:
- Key Result: Launch new website by the end of Q1.
- Current progress: 60% of website content is complete, and design is almost finalized → score 0.6.
3. Qualitative Scoring (Descriptive)
This scoring method is more subjective and focuses on the quality and outcomes of the key result rather than just the raw numbers. Teams can score based on the impact, effort, or value delivered rather than simply measuring progress against a fixed number.
- Achieved (1.0): Fully completed with significant positive impact.
- On Track (0.75): On track to completion with high-quality progress.
- Partially Achieved (0.5): Some progress made, but key challenges remain.
- Limited Progress (0.25): Very little progress or low-quality completion.
- Not Achieved (0.0): No progress or failed to deliver the key result.
Example:
- Key Result: Improve customer satisfaction score (CSAT) from 75% to 85%.
- Current score: 82% → "On Track" → score 0.75. However, the improvement was more qualitative in terms of customer feedback quality than quantity.
4. Weighted Scoring (For Multiple Key Results)
This method is often used when different key results are seen as having different levels of importance. You can assign weightings to each key result to reflect its relative importance toward achieving the overall objective.
- Weighting: Each key result gets a weight (usually between 1 and 3, or as a percentage of the total 100%).
- For each key result, calculate the score and multiply it by the weighting to get the weighted score.
Formula:
Weighted Score = Score × Weighting
- After scoring all key results, sum the weighted scores to get a final OKR score.
Example
-
Objective: Increase customer engagement
- KR1: Increase daily active users by 20% (Weight = 0.4) → Progress: 15% → Score: 0.75
- KR2: Launch new feature (Weight = 0.3) → Progress: 100% → Score: 1.0
- KR3: Improve support response time to 5 minutes (Weight = 0.3) → Progress: 50% → Score: 0.5
Weighted Score Calculation:
- KR1: 0.75 × 0.4 = 0.3
- KR2: 1.0 × 0.3 = 0.3
- KR3: 0.5 × 0.3 = 0.15
- Final OKR Score: 0.3 + 0.3 + 0.15 = 0.75 (This would be your overall OKR score).
5. Custom Scoring Systems
Some organizations create their own OKR scoring frameworks based on specific needs or processes, particularly when the key results have more complexity or unique requirements. For example, a company might use a 0-10 scale or add specific criteria like quality of execution, alignment with other goals, or impact on business KPIs.
- 0-3 scale: Low completion (0), moderate completion (2), full completion (3).
- 0-10 scale: Ranges from 0 for no progress to 10 for fully exceeding the key result.
This system is often more nuanced, allowing for more detailed feedback on performance.
6. Progress Indicators (Red, Yellow, Green)
Some teams use a traffic-light system to score key results based on their completion status:
- Green (1.0): Fully completed and on track to deliver.
- Yellow (0.5-0.75): On track but need attention, some progress made but not complete.
- Red (0.0-0.25): No progress, off track, or requires significant intervention.
This approach helps teams quickly assess whether key results are in a healthy state or need urgent attention.
Some key characteristics desired in Scoring OKRs:
- Clarity & Alignment: Choose a scoring system that makes sense for your team or organization and helps align all stakeholders with clear expectations of success.
- Transparency: Ensure that the scoring system is transparent and understood by everyone involved in setting and achieving OKRs.
- Flexibility: Be open to revising the scoring system as your OKR process matures and you refine how you set and track goals.
- Continuous Improvement: OKR scoring should also include feedback loops to improve how goals are set, executed, and reviewed in the future.
These artifacts are part of the larger process that helps an organization stay focused on its most important goals, ensuring alignment and tracking progress towards those goals.
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) metrics are measurable indicators used to track progress toward achieving key results. These metrics ensure that objectives are specific, quantifiable, and actionable.