Succeeding with OKRs in Agile - Mike Burrows

OKRs are about goals bigger than the next story. OKRs prioritise purpose and strategy over backlogs.

Does your agile team get lead astray by burning fires? Do you struggle to keep your agile team focused?
Do you feel the need for more than just doing the top of the backlog every two weeks?
Are you using, or want to use, OKRs with an agile team?

Then this is the book for you! Acclaimed author, Allan Kelly, has written a short guide to OKRs, writing them, organizing to deliver and the pitfalls. Allan is the author of multiple books on agile and has given advice and training for over 10 years. Now he turns his attention to OKRs.

In this book he doesn't try to sell OKRs - others can tell you why they are great. Allan describes his practical experience working with an agile team adopting OKRs, day-by-day, quarter-by-quarter.

Allan's advice includes: be really specific in setting goals, involve the whole team in setting OKRs, think broad when setting then execute narrowly, set analogue not binary OKRs and, most controversially, throw away your backlog and let OKRs drive everything you do.

Initially skeptical about OKRs, Allan found them a good fit with agile; OKRs became an effective means of focus teams, exposing problems, communicating with senior managers and a powerful means of asking bigger questions about product strategy and value.

OKRs and agile work well together because they are both outcome oriented and results focused. When used right OKR's give power and authority to teams - one could even say OKRs create test first management. Yet OKRs can be a double edge-sword, used poorly they can re-introduce command-and-control and hinder agile working. Allan addresses problems with predictability, aspirations, culture, targets and annual reviews.

"Easy read, super useful book for my current context at work right now!" @c_combe on Twitter

"I especially like the honest portrayal of top-down MBO OKR-setting and its problems. And providing tips on how to go about using OKRs in a different way." @anttiki

"I recommend heartily and have done so openly on the book seller's site - brilliant, balanced and lived experience and feedback from Allan" @rj_number_one

"Initially, I was thinking to join some OKR training but honestly felt this book is good enough to get one on the right path!" @ProdScrumMaster

This is absolutely brilliant book. If you really wants to learn more regarding OKR in Agile and other important stuff related to it you must read this book. It's truly a master piece. Author had provided excellent examples and explained everything in a detailed regarding OKR that anyone can easily understand. I really enjoyed reading this book and found it very interesting and informative. I strongly recommend to read this book.
- Amazon Review - N Mehta

Having read other books that argue strongly for OKRs as a panacea to achieve a high-performing organisation, the perspectives here from Allan are balanced, informed by lived experience and provide patterns and anti-patterns to watch for. Insightful and powerful - thank you Allan for sharing such well-considered feedback.
- Amazon Review - Richard James