What is OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)?
OKRs pair a qualitative, inspiring Objective ("make onboarding effortless") with 3–5 measurable Key Results that prove it happened ("activation rate 40%→65%", "time-to-first-value under 10 minutes"). Set quarterly, scored transparently, and — critically — key results measure outcomes, not activities: "ship the tutorial" is a task, "65% activation" is a result.
In project settings, OKRs sit above backlogs: they're the why that roadmaps and releases serve, and the test any feature must answer to.
Worked example
A product group sets: Objective — become the tool teams recommend. KRs — NPS 31→50, organic signups +40%, churn under 2%. Mid-quarter, a loud customer demands a bespoke feature; the team checks it against the KRs, finds it moves none of them, and declines politely with the OKR as the reason. Strategy just made a decision without a meeting — which is what OKRs are for.