Aug 22 [North & South]: Objectives & Key Results (OKRs): Connecting the Outcomes & the Output

Aug 2, 2019 | Meeting Announcement

Where: Workiva (Google Map)
1365 N. Scottsdale Rd. #400
Scottsdale, AZ

NOTE: Location is at Workiva. Please give yourself an extra 5-10 minutes for parking and signing-in to the office (NDA & Visitor badge required). There is parking along both Skysong Boulevard and Innovation Place, and there is another surface lot North of Building 3 off of Innovation Place. 

Agenda:
6:00 Registration Food and Drink
6:25 Announcements
6:30 Begin the Meeting
8:00 Closing Messages and Announcements

Description:  Objectives & Key Results (OKRs): Connecting the Outcomes & the Output

Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) are a framework for defining and tracking objectives and their outcomes. Since 1999, Google has used them and they've "helped lead [them] to 10x growth, many times over. They’ve helped make [their] crazily bold mission of 'organizing the world’s information' perhaps even achievable. They’ve kept [them] and the rest of the company on time and on track when it mattered the most."

After 5 years of iterating on their OKR process, Workiva has found a balance between using OKRs as a strict rule of law and a flexible alignment tool across over 30 development teams. Due to their success in R&D, OKRs have spread throughout the entire organization as they're used by Workiva's HR, IT, and other departments.

Speaker Bio:  Mike Robbins, Jeremy Keefer, Leah Ward

Mike Robbins has worked as a Scrum Master/Delivery Manager over the last 10 years in the Tempe/Scottsdale area. He is passionate about helping build strong development teams and developing strong leaders within the Delivery Management team at Workiva. He has presented several times on Agile vs Waterfall Project Management at project management classes and software clubs at Arizona State University and Iowa State University.

Matt Keefer has worked at Workiva for the past six years and has taken on the role of Delivery Manager over the past two years. He has grown from working directly with our customers to working with our engineers. This progression has given him the ability to have a deep understanding and insight into how our customers use the software he is now helping deliver.

Leah Ward has worked as a Delivery Manager at Workiva for 8 months. After graduating from a coding program she immediately sought a position that would integrate her new skills with her existing strengths, scrum master seemed a natural fit. New to the Delivery Manager position she is enjoying exploring her role as servant leader.