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Glossary
OKRs & KPIs

What is Key Result?

A Key Result is a measurable outcome used to track progress toward a specific objective. It provides a clear, quantitative target that tells a team if they are successfully achieving their qualitative goal. In the OKR framework, key results must be verifiable and objective, removing any ambiguity about whether a goal has been met.

When to use it

Teams use Key Results during quarterly or annual planning to turn vague aspirations into trackable outcomes. They solve the problem of subjective progress reporting by requiring specific, evidence-based data points. Use them when you need to align cross-functional teams around a shared definition of success and ensure that everyday tasks are contributing to high-level strategic goals.

Example

A SaaS team aiming to 'Improve Customer Retention' for Q3 might set several Key Results to measure their impact. They could target reducing the monthly churn rate from 4% to 2.5%, increasing the percentage of users who complete onboarding within 24 hours from 60% to 85%, and achieving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 50+. By tracking these specific numbers, the team can determine if their feature updates and support improvements are actually moving the needle on retention.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Key Result

Planet Roadmap has an OKR tree view that lets you nest Key Results under Objectives and link them directly to specific roadmap initiatives.

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FAQ

What is the difference between a Key Result and a task?
A task is an activity you perform (e.g., 'Launch a new email campaign'), whereas a Key Result is the outcome of that activity (e.g., 'Increase email click-through rate to 5%'). Tasks describe what you do; Key Results describe the measurable impact of what you did.
Should Key Results be easily achievable?
Ideally, Key Results should be 'stretch goals' that are ambitious but realistic. In the OKR framework, achieving 70% of a Key Result is often considered successful, as it indicates the team set a challenging target that pushed them beyond their comfortable baseline.

Related terms

OKRObjectiveKPILagging IndicatorLeading IndicatorNorth Star Metric

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