OKR & Cost-tracking process

What is OKR? Are OKRs and KPIs the same thing? How to combine OKRs and the process of cost-tracking? Why is it so tricky, and how many unfamiliar words will I use in this article?😁

Okay. Let's break it down and try to make sense of it all. Let's go!

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What is OKR?

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. It is a goal-setting framework that helps organizations and teams define and track their objectives and measure their progress towards achieving them. Intel popularized OKR and later adopted it by several other companies, including Google. 

The OKR framework consists of two main components:

  • Objectives: Objectives are ambitious, qualitative descriptions of what an organization or team wants to achieve. They are typically concise, inspirational statements that provide direction and purpose. Objectives should be challenging yet attainable, and they should align with the overall mission and vision of the organization.
  • Key Results: Key Results are measurable and specific outcomes that indicate progress towards the objectives. They are typically numeric, time-bound targets that can be objectively evaluated. Key Results define how success will be measured, and help teams focus on achieving their objectives. Each objective can have multiple key results associated with it. 

It's important to note that OKRs are meant to be aspirational and should stretch teams beyond their comfort zones. While achieving high percentages of key results is desirable, the focus should be on continuous improvement and learning rather than on achieving perfect scores.

Difference between OKR and KPI

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are frameworks used to measure and track progress and performance within an organization. While they have some similarities, they differ in their focus and approach. Here's a breakdown of the differences between OKR and KPI: 

🎯Purpose:

OKR: OKR is primarily used to set and align ambitious goals and objectives within an organization. It focuses on driving progress, innovation, and improvement.

KPI: KPI is used to measure and evaluate the performance of specific processes, activities, or individuals. It aims to monitor and optimize performance against predefined targets. 

🔍Scope:

OKR: OKR is often used at a higher organizational level to define strategic objectives and outcomes. It cascades down to different teams and individuals, enabling alignment and coordination.

KPI: KPI is typically more granular and specific. It is often used to measure performance at the team or individual level and for particular projects, processes, or metrics. 

🏗️Structure:

OKR: OKRs consist of two components: Objectives and Key Results. Objectives define the desired outcomes and are qualitative, providing a direction for the organization. Key Results are measurable and quantitative, indicating progress toward the objectives.

KPI: KPIs are generally quantitative metrics that directly measure performance. They are often predefined and well-established indicators that are tracked over time. 

💪Flexibility:

OKR: OKRs are designed to be flexible and adaptable. They are typically set for a shorter time frame (e.g., quarterly) and can be adjusted or modified as circumstances change. They encourage ambitious and aspirational goal-setting, even if full attainment is not always achieved.

KPI: KPIs are more rigid and predefined. They are set with specific targets and benchmarks that need to be met. Changes to KPIs are less frequent and require a more structured process. 

🌐Focus:

OKR: OKRs emphasize stretching beyond the current performance levels and driving innovation. They promote a culture of learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement.

KPI: KPIs focus on monitoring and optimizing existing processes or metrics. They help identify areas of underperformance or improvement opportunities. 

In summary, OKR is a goal-setting framework that drives ambitious objectives and outcomes, while KPI is a performance measurement framework that tracks specific metrics against predefined targets. OKR focuses on alignment, adaptability, and driving innovation, while KPI is more rigid and aims to optimize existing performance.

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How to combine the cost-tracking process and OKR strategy?

Here's a step-by-step approach to integrating cost-tracking into OKRs: 

1️⃣ Define your OKRs: Identify your high-level business objectives and break them down into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) key results. Ensure that your OKRs are aligned with your overall strategic goals. 

2️⃣ Identify cost-related objectives: Determine the purposes related to cost management and tracking that align with your organization's goals. For example, you might have objectives such as "Reduce infrastructure costs," "Optimize software licensing expenses," or "Improve cost-efficiency in cloud services." 

3️⃣ Set cost-related key results: Establish key results that quantify the desired outcomes for each cost-related objective. These key results should be specific, measurable, and time-bound, clearly indicating success. For instance, key results could be "Reduce infrastructure costs by 15% within six months," "Achieve a 10% cost savings on software licensing by the end of the quarter," or "Decrease cloud service expenses by 20% in the next fiscal year." 

4️⃣ Define cost-tracking metrics: Identify the metrics relevant to your cost-related objectives and key results. This could include metrics like total infrastructure expenditure, software licensing costs, cloud service expenses, or any other financial indicators that reflect your organization's spending. 

5️⃣ Establish a cost-tracking process: Implement a robust cost-tracking process to capture the relevant metrics. This may involve leveraging financial management software, cost-tracking tools, or custom-built systems to collect, aggregate, and analyze cost-related data. 

6️⃣ Monitor progress and adjust:

  1. Regularly track and monitor your cost-related metrics to assess progress towards achieving your key results.
  2. Analyze the data to identify trends, patterns, and areas where cost savings or optimization opportunities exist.
  3. Use this information to adjust your strategies, resource allocation, or operational decisions.

7️⃣ Communicate and align: Share the cost-tracking progress with stakeholders, team members, and executives. Communicate the correlation between cost management and the broader organizational goals to ensure alignment and understanding. This transparency helps foster a culture of cost-consciousness and accountability across the organization.

8️⃣ Continuous improvement: Iterate and improve your cost-tracking process over time. Solicit stakeholder feedback, evaluate your cost-saving initiatives' effectiveness, and identify areas for further optimization. This iterative approach ensures that your cost-tracking efforts align with evolving business objectives.

Takeaway

Integrating cost-tracking into your OKR framework allows you to effectively manage and optimize IT expenses while driving progress towards your organization's strategic goals.

For effective cost-tracking, we suggest using the app from my team - Cost Tracker for Jira Cloud. It has already proven itself and many companies are already actively implementing it in their workflow. We have a 30-day trial for you to evaluate all its benefits and start keeping track of all your expenses.

We are waiting for you in the SaaSJet family

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P.S. We invite you to read other articles and use cases from our team: 

 

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