How to Write OKRs as a Product Manager Without the Fluff
For Product managers · Based on Lobkovich No-BS OKRs Framework
// TL;DR
Product managers sit in the compression zone — caught between customer needs and internal technical constraints — which makes goal-setting especially hard. The No-BS OKRs framework helps you cut through competing demands by naming the strategic territory in a Theme, writing one directional objective with a real 'why,' and setting a few measurable key results. Use it each quarter to move from a scattered metrics dashboard to a focused set that drives retention, reduces friction, and shapes daily prioritisation. It's ideal when past goal-setting produced a laundry list nobody acted on.
Why do product OKRs so often fail?
Most product OKRs collapse because they become a metrics dashboard in disguise or a disguised roadmap. You end up with ten key results, half of which are activities like 'ship the redesign' or 'run user interviews.' The No-BS OKRs framework fixes this by separating your ambitious, directional objective from the few measurable results that prove it's working — and by deliberately keeping the set small enough to create genuine focus.
As a product manager, you also live in the compression zone: the organisational position caught between customer needs and internal technical or operational constraints. That tension makes goal-setting complex, but it's exactly why a clear Theme and influence-based key results matter so much.
How do I structure a product OKR set?
Start with the Theme — a 2–4 word phrase like 'Product and Customer Experience' that instantly signals the territory. Then draft your Objective using the formula [Action] + [what you're creating] + [why it matters]. For example: Create a friction-free product experience that delights users and makes them eager to return, establishing a foundation for sustainable growth. Notice there are no numbers — measurability lives entirely in the key results.
Next, build your key results:
- Outcome Key Result: the big impact you influence but don't fully control. Improve weekly active user retention by 30 points from 45% to 70% within 90 days of launch.
- Progress Key Result: a workflow improvement that's a leading indicator. Decrease average user path to value from seven steps to three by end of Q2.
- Target Behavior Key Result: for signals you can't yet instrument. Increase users spontaneously describing the product as easy or intuitive in feedback from zero to five mentions per week.
How do I keep stakeholders from bloating my OKRs?
The discipline is judicious prioritisation over comprehensive coverage. When engineering, sales, and leadership each push their metric, remember: more goals is not more strategy, it's less clarity. Anchor every debate to the objective's 'why' and ask whether an additional key result genuinely makes the outcome more likely. If it doesn't, it belongs in the project plan, not the OKR.
Embrace influence, not control. You may not command retention outright — onboarding, pricing, and market forces all touch it — but if the retention goal shapes what your team builds and drops each sprint, the key result is doing its job. That intentional tension is healthy.
How do I keep product OKRs alive after planning?
Move them off the slide and into your operating rhythm. Confirm the goal cycle (say, Q2), assign ownership, then review the key results against real data in your regular check-ins. Let those numbers drive prioritisation — cutting a low-impact feature because it doesn't move the path-to-value key result is exactly the framework working as intended.
Before you finalise, stress-test the set: Does the objective explain why it matters? Do all key results describe outcomes, not activity? Is the set small enough to focus the team? Could two people agree whether each target was hit? Is it ambitious but not fabricated?
Next step: Draft one Theme, one directional objective, and three key results for your current quarter — then run the five-point stress-test before your next planning meeting.
// FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Should retention be an objective or a key result for product teams?
Retention belongs in a key result, not the objective. Objectives are directional and purpose-driven — like creating a friction-free experience users return to. The measurable retention target (from 45% to 70% within 90 days) becomes your Outcome Key Result. Keep the number out of the objective; put it where measurability belongs.
How do I set OKRs for a product feature I don't fully control?
Use influence, not control, as your test. If the goal shapes what your team builds and prioritises each sprint, it's valid even when pricing, market, or other teams affect the final number. Outcome Key Results are specifically designed to be influenced but not fully owned — that tension is intentional and healthy.
What's a good Progress Key Result for a product team?
A measurable workflow improvement that acts as a leading indicator for your outcome — for example, reducing average user path to value from seven steps to three by end of Q2. Ask: if we hit this, does it make the retention or engagement outcome more likely? If yes, it's a strong Progress Key Result.