A Practical Guide to OKRs in Agile Project Management

Quick answer: OKRs (objectives and key results) are a goal-setting framework that pairs an ambitious objective with measurable key results. In agile project management, OKRs help teams connect their day-to-day work to business outcomes and stay focused on value. Tracking your OKRs consistently with regular check-ins is what keeps that connection real instead of theoretical.

Agile teams move fast. They build, test, learn, and adjust often. But all that motion means little without direction. How do you ensure that your team's hard work actually moves the needle on what matters? OKRs give your team a clear sense of where you're headed and how you'll know when you've arrived.

Scrum, kanban, and other frameworks are different ways teams put agile principles into practice–so most of this guide applies regardless of which one your team uses. Where something is specific to a particular framework, we'll call that out.

What are OKRs in agile project management?

OKRs are a goal-setting framework made up of two parts:

• Objective: a clear, inspiring statement of what you want to achieve
• Key results: a small set of measurable outcomes that show you're making progress toward the objective

Think of the objective as your destination, and the key results as the signposts along the way. A good objective answers the question "Where do we want to go?" A good key result answers: "How will we know we're on track to arrive there?"

Here's a simple example:

• Objective: Create a smoother onboarding experience for new users
• Key result 1: Increase the percentage of users who complete setup from 60% to 85%
• Key result 2: Reduce average time-to-first-value from 10 days to 3 days
• Key result 3: Lift new-user satisfaction scores from 7.0 to 8.5

Notice the objective is qualitative and motivating, while the key results are specific and measurable. That balance is the heart of a strong OKR.

If you want to see more examples like this one across different team goals, OKR examples for agile teams has a full breakdown by category. 

Why do OKRs and agility work so well together?

Agility emphasizes delivering value in small, frequent increments and adapting as you learn. OKRs share that same spirit. Both focus on outcomes rather than output, and both encourage teams to inspect, adapt, and improve.

Here's why they're such a natural fit:

• They keep teams focused on outcomes: Agile teams can get caught up in shipping features. OKRs draw attention back to the results those features are meant to create.
• They support transparency: Just like a visible backlog makes work transparent, OKRs make goals visible across the whole team and beyond.
• They encourage regular syncs and feedback loops: Agility thrives on feedback loops. OKRs are designed to be reviewed often, which fits perfectly with whatever regular review points your team already has. Sprint reviews in scrum are one of the best times to review OKRs.
• They support self-managing teams: By replacing top-down task lists with clear objectives, OKRs give teams the freedom and ownership to chart their own path to success.

Understanding why OKRs and agility fit together is one thing; putting that into practice is another. For a step-by-step look at connecting OKRs to your day-to-day work, see Integrating OKRs into Agile. 

How do you track OKRs in an agile organization?

This is where a lot of teams stall out: they set strong OKRs, then lose track of them between quarterly check-ins. Tracking OKRs well means making progress visible at the same cadence you already review work. 

What to track: Track the key results themselves, not just whether tasks got done. A key result like "increase the percentage of users who complete setup from 60% to 85%" should have a current number attached to it at all times—not just a status of "on track" or "off track." 

Where to track it: Most agile teams keep OKR progress visible in many different ways:

• Inside existing agile tools. Many project management platforms (Jira, Linear, Azure DevOps, and similar tools) support linking backlog items or epics to a parent objective, so progress rolls up automatically as work is completed.
• In dedicated OKR software. Purpose-built tools (like Gtmhub, Perdoo, or Lattice) are built specifically for OKR tracking and reporting, and can be useful if you're managing OKRs across many teams rather than one.
• In a spreadsheet. Not every team has budget for another tool, or needs one. A shared spreadsheet takes more manual upkeep, but it's a perfectly workable way to track OKRs as long as someone owns keeping it current. 

None of these is inherently better than the others — the right choice depends on your situation. Favor your existing PM tool if OKRs need to connect tightly to day-to-day backlog work, dedicated OKR software if you're rolling progress up across multiple teams for leadership visibility, and a spreadsheet if you want something simple that doesn't require buying or learning a new tool. 

How often to check in: Set OKRs quarterly, but track progress weekly or at whatever interval your team already uses to review work—once per sprint if you run scrum, or on a regular cadence if you don't. The quarterly window gives goals room to mature; the frequent check-in keeps them from becoming a "set it and forget it" exercise.

How do you set effective OKRs?

Writing strong OKRs is a skill of its own. The short version is that objectives should be qualitative and motivating, while key results should be specific, measurable, and a little bit of a stretch. Most teams do best with two or three objectives at a time, each backed by two to five key results. Our guide on how to write OKRs walks through strong objective phrasing, common key-result mistakes, and worked examples in more depth. 

How do OKRs fit into scrum events?

If your team uses scrum, OKRs slot in naturally alongside your existing events. Bring your OKRs into the conversations you're already having.

• Sprint planning: Use your OKRs to guide what the team pulls into the sprint. Ask, "Which backlog items will move our key results forward?"
• Daily scrum: Keep key results visible, so the team stays oriented around outcomes, not just tasks.
• Sprint review: Share progress on key results with stakeholders, which focuses the conversation on value delivered.
• Sprint retrospective: Reflect on whether your work actually moves your OKRs forward, and adjust your approach if needed.

The product owner plays a key role here. By tying backlog priorities to key results, the product owner helps the team focus on the work that matters most.

To see this play out in practice, The Synergy of OKRs and Scrum: A Powerful Combination walks through how one real organization connected the two.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between OKRs and KPIs?

OKRs set ambitious goals, while KPIs monitor the ongoing health of a process — our KPIs vs. OKRs comparison breaks down when to use each. 

How often should agile teams set OKRs?

Most agile teams set OKRs quarterly, then check progress weekly or once per work cycle. The quarterly rhythm provides time for goals to mature, while regular check-ins keep them top of mind and easy to adjust. Choose the cadence that matches how your team already plans and reviews work.

Who owns OKRs in an agile team?

OKRs are a shared responsibility. Leadership typically sets higher-level objectives, while the team helps shape the key results and decides how to achieve them, often with an OKR champion guiding the process. This shared ownership keeps OKRs aligned with both company strategy and the team's daily work.

Can OKRs replace a product backlog in scrum?

No. OKRs and a product backlog serve different purposes. OKRs define the outcomes you want to achieve, while the backlog lists the specific work items you'll tackle to get there. Use OKRs to guide which backlog items to prioritize, but keep the two separate so your goals stay focused on value, not just tasks.

Are OKRs only for large companies?

Not at all. OKRs scale to teams of any size, from a two-person startup to a global enterprise. Smaller teams often benefit most because OKRs bring instant clarity and alignment without a heavy process. Start with one objective and a few key results, then expand as you grow more comfortable with the framework.

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