Measure objectives: metrics and targets

Objectives come in all shapes and sizes. With 15Five, you can set objectives to track progress in a way that works for you. Keep reading to find inspiration for setting key results, metrics, and targets. 

For more information on creating an objective, see this article. 

Key results and metrics

Key results must be named in order to save your objective. Your key result title should be brief but descriptive. These key results will be your tasks to track your objective progress. 

Metrics can be measured by a percentage, a monetary value, a number, or completed/not completed. 

• Percentage- Using a percentage as the metric for your key result gives you the flexibility of deciding what 20%, 50%, or 100% is. This metric is commonly used for key results where completion seems to be more subjective.
• Monetary value- Using a monetary value as the metric for your key result means you are setting a financial goal. Company admins can change the default currency here. 
• Number- Using a number as the metric for your key result means you are setting a specific numeric goal.
• Completed/Not completed- Using completed/not completed as the metric for your key result allows you to focus on your key result as yes or no task. This metric is commonly used for key results where completion seems to be more objective or abstract.  

Examples of key results using these metrics: 

% KR: Customer churn rate less than 2% (Start value could be higher than the target value here; anything below 2 would be considered 100%)

% KR: Customer satisfaction is 95% (Start value would be 0, target value would be 95; anything above 95 would be considered 100% complete)

$ KR: Close Series B round with $10M 

$ KR: Increase average account value to $500k (Start value would be 0, target value would be 500 or 500,000; anything above 500 or 500,000 would be considered 100% complete)

# KR: Attend 6 industry trade shows

# KR: Reduce manufacturing time for xyz product to 5 hours (Start value could be higher than target value here; anything below 5 would be considered 100%)

Completed/Not completed KR: Product design completed by January 15 

Complete/Not completed KR: Make a decision on bug ticketing software

Start and target values

Start values represent where you are starting from. Seems logical, right? BUT what happens when your Start value is greater than your Target value? Not to worry! You can have Start values that are greater than your Target values.

Target values represent where you are aiming to finish. Your overall objective progress will increase as you approach your Target value; even if that Target value is less than your Start value. 

Example of a key result whose target value < the start value:

Support wants their response time to be under 10 minutes.


Start value would be 10.

Target value would be 0.

Latest update from a Check-in is 6. Currently, your key result would be 40% complete.

Next week your Check-in update is 4. Your key result would then be 60% complete, and so on. 

The closer you get to your Target value, the closer your key result gets to 100%. This percentage will in turn update your overall objective percentage. 

Example of a key result whose target value > the start value:

Sales wants to increase MRR by 100k through expansion opps. 

Start value would be 0 ($). 

Target value would be 100,000 ($). 

Latest update from a Check-in is 25,000 ($). Currently, your key result 25% complete. 

Next week your Check-in update is 30,000 ($). Your key result would then be 33% complete. 

The closer you get to your Target value, the closer your key result gets to 100%. This percentage will in turn update your overall objective percentage.