OKRs and Roadmaps guide organizations in what they do. However, they are fundamentally different. Without much further ado, let’s take a look at what they are and how they’re different.
We change our tools and then our tools change us.
What are OKRs?
Source: Profit.co
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) is a collaborative tool used by an organization, teams and individuals to set challenging, measurable goals. OKRs help track progress, create alignment and encourage engagement among team members.
OKRs help provide clarity at whatever level they are used at — be it at an organizational level, department, team or individual level.
An Objective can have more than one Key Result. KRs are specific and time bound, and help track how well and when the Objective is achieved — this is typically done at the end of the quarter to evaluate if the objectives have been achieved or not.
What is a Roadmap?
ROADMAP
Source: productplan.com
A Roadmap is a high-level strategic overview of an important business initiative. It is used to manage a company-wide project and the development of a new product. Roadmaps act as a common reference point for everyone involved to have a clear understanding of what the goals are for a project. Having one central reference point helps have all members of the team onboard if the priority of tasks needs to be updated or altered, or milestones changed.
Let’s now take a look at how OKRs and Roadmaps are different.
In Conclusion
While OKRs and Roadmaps are two fundamentally very different tools, they are complementary tools that can work well together. A Roadmap is a valuable tool that helps the organization reach greater heights. A well thought-out roadmap has all the right elements to actualize a business plan and see it to fruition.