OKRs for software delivery teams
What an engineering team should actually track, why most delivery OKRs measure motion instead of results, and worked examples you can adapt.
OKRs fail in software teams for one reason more than any other: the key results measure activity — ceremonies run, tools adopted, tickets closed — instead of outcomes the business can feel. Activity OKRs are always achieved and never matter. This guide is about the other kind.
What OKRs should a software engineering team track?
Key results built on the metrics that connect engineering to the P&L: delivery predictability (committed vs delivered), rework as a share of capacity, cycle time, review time per change, and cost per delivered unit or profit per delivered hour. Every one of those has a baseline, moves within a quarter, and means something to a CEO.
Worked examples
Adapt the baselines and targets to your own measured numbers — the structure is what matters. Baselines invented in a planning meeting produce OKRs nobody believes.
| Objective | Key results (from measured baseline) |
|---|---|
| Make our delivery dates trustworthy | KR1: committed-vs-delivered from 62% → 85% sustained over 2 sprints · KR2: items exceeding 2× median cycle time from 30% → 10% · KR3: WIP per developer from 3.1 → ≤1.5 |
| Stop paying for the same work twice | KR1: rework from 28% → 15% of capacity · KR2: changes reopened after review from 22% → 10% · KR3: unplanned work measured and budgeted at ≤20% |
| Make AI adoption reach the P&L | KR1: AI-assisted PRs meeting the AI Definition of Done from 0% → 90% · KR2: senior review time per change from 3.5h → 2h · KR3: cost per delivered unit down 10% vs baseline |
The figures above are illustrative structure, not published client results. Replace every number with your own baseline before using them.
How to implement OKRs in a software company
The anti-patterns that kill delivery OKRs
Velocity as a key result — it inflates on demand and proves nothing. 100% completion culture — if every KR lands, the targets were sandbagged. Cascaded task lists — objectives translated into Jira epics measure compliance, not outcomes. Individual delivery OKRs — delivery is a system property; individual targets invite local optimisation and gaming.
Do delivery OKRs actually move the business?
When they're built on baselines, yes. The clearest case we can publish: a €7M software consultancy grew to €9M in 12 months while improving profit per delivered hour by 15% — through OKRs, delivery discipline and AI-enabled workflows. Baseline, timeframe, client-approved. OKRs weren't the magic; they were the mechanism that kept the whole system pointed at the numbers that mattered.
Related questions
One to two objectives per quarter, two to four key results each. More dilutes focus — and focus is the entire point.
Generally no. Delivery outcomes are produced by teams and systems. Keep OKRs at team and company level; handle individual growth through development conversations.
Quarterly for teams — delivery metrics move on that horizon. Annual objectives belong at company level, with quarterly team OKRs laddering into them.
Usually one of three causes: no baselines (targets from the air), key results measuring activity, or OKRs wired into performance reviews. All three are fixable — but the fix is design, not more enthusiasm.
Nicolás Espinosa — Founder, Optimum Agile. Accredited OKR Implementation Coach; former Director of Product at PikPok and Senior Delivery Manager at Trade Me. Based in Auckland, working with NZ and Australian software teams.