OKR and Scrum
Interested in OKR? Check out my OKR Guide and download free OKR resources
In my previous article on Agile Goal Setting, I wrote about how OKR can be used to complement Agile and Lean Startup:
Instead of static planning with annual fixed goals, OKR works in quarterly (or even shorter) goal setting cycles, enabling an agile, iterative approach to goal setting.
If you haven't read the article yet, you should. But OKR can also specifically complement Scrum:
How OKR complements Scrum
OKR gives autonomy to the team
In some companies, the Product Owner is called a “Proxy Owner” since she/he simply brings back and forth the feature list that has been prioritized by the top management. How can you give her/him the mandate to manage the product? How can you make sure the team has autonomy?
If the role of the team is “to deliver the features the customer/management wants”, that will never happen. The mindset needs to be “the role of the team is to achieve the success criteria as described in the Key Results and agreed with the customer/management. Let’s give them the autonomy to do that”.
OKR helps prioritize the product backlog
Even though you have to focus on delivering business results rather than features, you will still have to prioritize the product backlog.
But how the Product Owner/Manager is supposed to do that? She/He is supposed to use “perceived value” as the criteria, but this is still subjective. OKR can act as the missing piece, a simple, clear framework to decide which features to work on.
As Cagan wrote about product scorecards (now being replaced by OKRs):
One of my favorite benefits of these product scorecards is that they can often help you eliminate a good portion of your backlog/roadmap. If a feature idea doesn’t speak directly to one of the top KPI’s [Key Results] on the product scorecard [ OKRs], it’s generally off the list.
(Did you enjoy reading? Please recommend ❤ or share this article, follow me on Twitter @meetfelipe, and check out more of my work. You can also visit my website: felipecastro.com)
