Stylight handbook

The inner workings of a product company

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Goals and measuring progress

We use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to set goals and track our progress towards reaching them.

  • Objectives are ambitious, qualitative, time-bound, and should feel somewhat uncomfortable
  • Key Results are measurable and quantifiable; they should be easy to grade with a number (we use a 0 – 100% scale to grade each key result at the end of each quarter)
  • OKRs are accessible for permanent employees [Stylight login required]. Everybody in the company can see what everyone else is working on (and how they did in the past)
  • For simplicity we measure our goals in percent and we are striving for 100%, not for Google’s 70%. Low grades shouldn’t be punished; see them as data to help refine the next quarter’s OKRs.
  • OKRs are not used for employee evaluation. They are a communication tool that helps us arrive at a common understanding and alignment towards a goal.
  • OKRs exist to set clear priorities and to focus the organization by aligning everyone towards the same goals. In order to do that, we use few OKRs. Each team should have 1-3 objectives and 1-3 key results per objective. Less is more here.

Company Strategic Goals

The strategic goals of the company build the basis for all our team OKRs. They are set each year by management.

Team OKRs

Team OKRs are defined collaboratively every quarter and for each team in a bottom up approach. Each team defines objectives toward Stylight’s company strategy. They help us arrive at a common understanding and align our efforts. Every team reports their progress during the Team Weekly or Team Weekly Fair.

For further background information, watch how Google uses OKRs and read this description of the fundamentals of OKRs.