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Set quarterly outcomes and measures

growth.quarterly-okrs·version 1.0.0·draft

Set quarterly outcomes and measures

The company enters the quarter with 3–5 objectives, each with measurable key results, a named owner and a data source that can actually produce the number.

MartaGrowth Leadruns itProfile ›
Whenscheduled · quarterly — two weeks before the quarter starts; also when the owner asks to set or reset the quarter's goals
Who actsthe agent acts after approval
Time60–90 min active across two sessions, spread over one week
Countryany country
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When to use

Use this at the start of every quarter, or whenever the owner resets direction mid-year. Not for the annual priorities themselves — those come from growth.annual-plan; this playbook breaks one quarter of them into measurable outcomes. Not for checking progress mid-quarter — that is growth.monthly-growth-review, which reads what this playbook wrote. Not for running a single experiment against a key result — that is growth.run-experiment.

Before you start

  • Last quarter's OKR set is closed: every key result has a final score and one line of "why", written in or after growth.monthly-growth-review.
  • The owner has stated the 1–3 things that must move this quarter, even in one sentence.
  • For each candidate measure, the agent knows where the number will come from (which module, report or dashboard) — if not, that is a finding, not a blocker.

What a run requires2

  • Approval · S4 · ownerthe run stops until a named person records the decision
  • Approval · S6 · ownerthe run stops until a named person records the decision

Any step can wait until a date and reopens by itself; every closed step leaves evidence (a note, a link, a number).

The trail9 steps

  1. Close the books on last quarteragent

    Pull the final score of every key result from the goals module and the underlying numbers from their sources.

    Done when each objective from last quarter has a score (0.0–1.0) and a one-line cause, written next to it.

    ⛔ A key result with no recorded baseline or source cannot be scored — mark it "unmeasured" and carry that as a finding into S5.

  2. Collect the owner's intentagent

    Ask the owner: what must be true at the end of this quarter, what will be deliberately NOT worked on, and what changed since the annual plan.

    Done when the owner's answers are written back to them in three lines and confirmed.

  3. Draft candidate objectivesagent

    Write 4–6 candidate objectives as outcomes ("repeat customers buy without a discount"), each with 2–3 draft key results as measures with a number and a date ("repeat purchase rate from 11% to 16% by 31 Mar").

    Done when a draft sheet exists with, per objective: the outcome, the key results, the current baseline and the data source for each.

  4. Choose the quarter's objectivesownerneeds approval · owner

    Approval · S4 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

    Present the candidates with baselines, data sources and a recommendation; the owner picks 3–5 and may merge or reword.

    Done when the owner has named the final objectives and dropped the rest, and the choice is recorded with date.

  5. Make every key result measurableagent

    For each key result: fix the baseline (pull the actual current number), fix the target and end date, and name the source that will produce the number at scoring time.

    Done when no key result lacks a baseline, a target and a named source.

    ⛔ "Improve customer satisfaction" is not a key result. If no data source exists for a measure, either pick a measurable proxy now or flag it to the owner in S6 — do not leave it vague.

  6. Approve the final setownerneeds approval · owner

    Approval · S6 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

    Show the complete set — objectives, key results, baselines, targets, sources, owners-proposed — and get an explicit yes.

    Done when the owner has approved the set as written, and any change from S4 is recorded.

  7. Record the setagent

    Create one goal per objective in the goals module (bc goals add), key results as its measures with baselines and targets; link each objective to the annual-plan priority it serves; create a task per objective owner with the checkpoint dates (bc tasks add).

    Done when the goals module shows the quarter's set with owners, and each goal names its annual priority.

  8. Publish and briefagent

    Send the one-page set to the team: the objectives, who owns each, what will NOT be worked on, and when the reviews happen. Walk the team through it in the next weekly meeting or a short call.

    Done when the summary is sent and the briefing has happened (or is booked with a date).

  9. Schedule the checkpointsagent

    Put three review points in the calendar — roughly at weeks 4, 9 and 13 — each linked to growth.monthly-growth-review, with the goals from S7 attached.

    Done when the calendar shows the three checkpoints with the goals linked.

Checks — how we know it worked

  • Count of objectives is 3–5 (fewer is fine; more is a finding to raise with the owner).
  • Every key result reads as number → number by date, and its source is named and reachable by the agent.
  • Every objective has exactly one named owner.
  • Each objective traces to an annual-plan priority or to an explicit owner decision recorded in S2.
  • The first checkpoint date is inside the quarter, not after it.

If it goes wrong

SymptomResponse
Owner wants more than 5 objectivesShow last quarter's set with its scores; propose merging the extras into "second tier" — recorded but not resourced. Do not record the inflated set.
A key result has no data sourceFlag it in S6; the owner either accepts a manual count with a named person or the key result is replaced. Never record a measure nobody can produce.
Baseline disputed at approval timeStop, measure the baseline now from the source, update the sheet, re-approve. A wrong baseline poisons the score at quarter end.
Quarter already started by several daysStill run the playbook; set targets prorated to the remaining weeks and note the late start in the goal record.
Direction changes mid-quarterDo not silently rewrite goals; run this playbook as a reset, mark the old set "superseded" with a reason, and score what was achieved up to the change.

What each step leaves behind

  1. S1each objective from last quarter has a score (0.0–1.0) and a one-line cause, written next to it.
  2. S2the owner's answers are written back to them in three lines and confirmed.
  3. S3a draft sheet exists with, per objective: the outcome, the key results, the current baseline and the data source for each.
  4. S4the owner has named the final objectives and dropped the rest, and the choice is recorded with date.
  5. S5no key result lacks a baseline, a target and a named source.
  6. S6the owner has approved the set as written, and any change from S4 is recorded.
  7. S7the goals module shows the quarter's set with owners, and each goal names its annual priority.
  8. S8the summary is sent and the briefing has happened (or is booked with a date).
  9. S9the calendar shows the three checkpoints with the goals linked.

Evidence to keep

The owner's intent answers (S2) · the draft sheet with baselines and sources · the owner's choice and approval with dates (S4, S6) · the goals-module ids for the quarter's set · the checkpoint dates · the one-page summary as sent.

How this playbook improves

After every 4 runs (one year) ask: how many days from quarter start to a published set, and what delayed it? How many key results were scored "unmeasured" and why? Did any objective have no owner or no trace to the annual plan? Did the monthly reviews actually use these goals, or did the team track something else? A new version fixes the step that caused the delay or the unmeasured result, and says so in its change note.