By Quick answer: What are good OKR examples for product teams?
- Objective — qualitative, inspiring, time-bound.
- Key results — 3–5 measurable outcomes.
- Outcomes, not tasks — 'raise retention', not 'ship feature'.
- Cadence — quarterly, reviewed weekly.
- Scoring — 0.0–1.0; 0.6–0.7 is often healthy for stretch goals.
Key takeaways
- OKRs align teams on outcomes and leave solutions open.
- Key results must be measurable from data you already collect.
- Fewer OKRs focus the team; three objectives is plenty.
- Stretch goals should feel uncomfortable but possible.
- Never tie OKR scores directly to compensation.
OKRs were developed at Intel and popularised at Google by John Doerr2. Done well, they align a product team on a few outcomes that matter and leave the team free to find the best solutions. Done badly, they become a task list with percentages. Google's re:Work guide sets out the basics clearly1; here are examples that follow them.
The template
| Part | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Qualitative, inspiring, one quarter | "Make new users successful in their first week" |
| Key result 1 | Measurable outcome, baseline → target | Day-7 retention from 22% to 30% |
| Key result 2 | Measurable outcome | Time to first value from 9 to 4 minutes |
| Key result 3 | Measurable outcome | Onboarding completion from 48% to 65% |
| Initiatives | The work you'll try (not KRs) | Shorter signup, guided first task, reminder |
15 product OKR examples
Activation
O: Make new users successful in week one. KRs: day-7 retention 22% → 30%; time to first value 9 → 4 min; onboarding completion 48% → 65%.
Retention
O: Become a weekly habit. KRs: weekly active users / monthly 35% → 45%; day-30 retention 10% → 14%.
Monetisation
O: Make paying feel worth it. KRs: trial-to-paid 8% → 12%; refund rate below 2%.
Engagement depth
O: Help users get more done. KRs: core actions per active user 3.1 → 4.0; feature adoption of saved lists 15% → 25%.
Quality
O: Make the app reliably fast. KRs: crash-free sessions 99.2% → 99.7%; cold start under 2 s on low-end Android.
Ratings
O: Earn users' recommendation. KRs: store rating 4.1 → 4.4; one-star reviews mentioning bugs halved.
Discovery
O: Understand why users churn. KRs: 20 churn interviews completed; top 3 churn reasons validated with data.
Growth
O: Grow through users who love us. KRs: referral share of new users 8% → 15%; invite acceptance 20% → 30%.
Payments
O: Make paying effortless. KRs: payment success rate 92% → 96%; UPI Autopay mandate success 70% → 85%.
Support
O: Solve problems before users ask. KRs: tickets per 1,000 users 12 → 8; first-response time under 2 hours.
Accessibility
O: Make the app usable for everyone. KRs: all core flows pass screen-reader tests; text scaling supported on every screen.
Localisation
O: Serve Hindi-first users well. KRs: Hindi users' day-7 retention matches English users; Hindi content coverage 100% of core flows.
Performance marketing
O: Acquire users who stay. KRs: day-30 retention of paid users 6% → 10%; cost per retained user down 20%.
Platform
O: Ship faster with confidence. KRs: release frequency weekly; change failure rate below 10%.
AI feature
O: Make AI answers trustworthy. KRs: helpful-answer rating 70% → 85%; flagged answers below 1%.
Common mistakes
- Key results that are tasks ("launch dark mode")
- No baseline, so progress can't be measured
- Too many objectives
- Sandbagged targets that are guaranteed
- OKRs set once and never reviewed
Anchor OKRs to your North Star metric, and plan the work on a roadmap.
Key terms, defined
Objective — what you want to achieve. Key result — a measurable outcome showing progress. Initiative — work you do to move key results. Stretch goal — an ambitious target you may not fully hit. KPI — a key performance indicator monitored over time.
Frequently asked questions
What does OKR stand for?
Objectives and Key Results — a goal-setting method where an objective describes what you want to achieve and key results measure progress toward it.
What's the difference between OKRs and KPIs?
KPIs are ongoing health metrics. OKRs are time-bound goals to change something, often moving a KPI.
How many OKRs should a product team have?
One to three objectives per quarter, each with three to five key results.
Should key results be features?
No. Features are initiatives that may achieve key results. Key results measure outcomes, such as retention or conversion.
How are OKRs scored?
Commonly from 0.0 to 1.0. Google's guidance suggests that for stretch goals, an average around 0.6–0.7 indicates ambitious goal-setting.
Who invented OKRs?
Andy Grove developed the approach at Intel; John Doerr introduced it to Google and popularised it in the book Measure What Matters.
Sources
- Google re:Work — Set goals with OKRs (archived copy, January 2023)
- What Matters — What is an OKR?
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- North Star metric examples — the metric above your OKRs
- Product roadmap template — plan the work toward them
- Career guidesOKRs and performance management skills employers want in 2027: writing objectives and measurable key results, alignment, check-ins, scoring and linking goals to performanceOKR skills employers want in 2027: writing objectives and measurable key results, alignment, cadence, check-ins, scoring, common mistakes and performance links.
- Product managementPRD template: how to write a product requirements document your team will readA PRD template for product teams: problem, goals, users, solution, requirements, metrics, risks and decisions — plus a one-page version and writing tips.
- Templates & toolsFree product roadmap template: the Now–Next–Later format, with examples and how to run itA free product roadmap template in the Now–Next–Later format, with a filled example for an app, how to tie items to outcomes, and mistakes to avoid.
- Product managementProduct metrics every PM must know — definitions, formulas and when to use themThe product metrics every PM must know — acquisition, activation, engagement, retention, revenue and quality — with formulas, pitfalls and a metric tree.
- Startups in IndiaPitch deck template: the 12 slides investors expect, what goes on each, and common mistakesA startup pitch deck template with the 12 slides investors expect, what to put on each, examples of strong slides and the mistakes that get decks skipped.
- AI & vibe codingPrompt engineering guide: the principles that work, with 50 copy-ready examplesA practical prompt engineering guide: seven principles from the AI labs' own docs, a reusable template and 50 copy-ready examples.
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