How to create and manage OKRs

Article
09/03/2024

OKRs (objectives and key results) in Microsoft Purview are trackable business objectives tied to governance domains and data products to emphasize the value of business data.

This article describes how to manage OKRs in Microsoft Purview. It provides steps to create OKRs in a governance domain, create key results, and connect them to your data products.

For more information about OKRs in general, see out OKRs as a concept page.

Prerequisites

Any users can read published OKRs.
To create and edit OKRs, you need steward role.

Access OKRs

In the Microsoft Purview portal, open the data catalog and select the Catalog management drop-down.
Select Governance domains.
Select the governance domain you'd like to see OKRs for.
Select the View all OKRs button.

Now you can see the full list of OKRs for that governance domain, which you can filter by name. You can see their description, target date, and current overall progress. Select an OKR to see its detailed view, and get more information about its key results.

Create OKRs

You can create OKRs directly in the Microsoft Purview portal.

In the Microsoft Purview portal, open the data catalog and select the Catalog management drop-down.
Select Governance domains.
Select the governance domain you'd like to add an OKR to.
Select the OKRs button.
To create single, new OKRs, select New OKR.
Write your objective- a statement that describes the action you'll take and why it matters. For example: Revamp customer service to improve satisfaction and retention rates.
Select an owner or owners for your OKR.
Select a target date to meet the OKR.
Select Create.

You are taken to the details page for your new OKR, where you can edit or manage your OKR, view key results, and view linked data products.

Note

Only stewards and governance domain owners can see your OKR until you publish it.

Key results

Key results are how you track the overall progress of an OKR. They should be specific, measurable outcomes so you and your team can accurately gauge progress or completion.

The top key results are listed on the details page. To view any others, select View all key results.

Select a specific key result to see its details.

Create key result

To create a new key result for an OKR:

In your OKR's details page, select Add key result.
Add your key result statement - it should be a specific, measurable outcome that uses metrics. For example: Increase customer retention rate by 25%.
Select current progress status - on track, behind, or at risk.
Set progress amount as a percentage or a value.
Set goal amount as a percentage or a value.
Set the maximum allowed amount as a percentage or value.
Select Create.

Your newly created key result is now listed under key results in your OKR.

Update key result

In your OKR's details page, select the key result you want to update, or select View all key results to see a full list of key results.
Select the key result you want to edit, and select the Edit button.
Edit the result, progress status, progress amount, goal amount, or maximum amount.
Select Save to save your updates.

Data products

Add, remove, and view data product links all from within your business OKR.

View linked data products

You can view all your linked data products from within your OKR. The details page lists the first 10 linked data products. Select View all data products to see and search the entire list.

Add data product link

In your OKR's details page, select the + Link data product button.
Search for the data product, or data products, you want to link.
Select any data products you want to link.
You can remove any selected products from the Selected list by selecting the X button next to their name.
To add your selected data products, select Save.

Remove linked data products

To remove a linked data product:

Open the OKR where the data product is linked.
Find the data product on the details page or select View all data products to search for it.
Select the ellipsis button (...) next to the data product and select Remove link.

Manage OKRs

On your OKR's details page, select Edit.
From here you can manage your OKR's basic details like name, status, owner, and target date.

Draft, publish, or close

You can publish a drafted OKR, or unpublish a previously published OKR and set it to draft or closed. Closing an OKR will limit its visibility to stewards and governance domain owners.

To publish or unpublish an OKR:

Closing an OKR will limit its visibility to stewards and governance domain owners. Deleted OKRs are removed from the governance domain.

Select the governance domain you'd like to publish or unpublish an OKR from.
Select the OKRs card.
Search or browse for the OKR and select it.
1. Select the Publish button if in draft state and Unpublish if already published.
You can either Set to draft for further edits or Set to closed if you don't wish to use it any longer.