Guides

How to score OKRs

Updated 2026-10-24

At the end of each quarter, every objective gets a score from 0 to 1. The score is only useful if it comes from the key results' numbers, says how far you got, and feeds the next quarter's plan.

The 0-1 scale

Score each key result by how much of the way from its start to its target you got, then score the objective as the average of its key results. A key result that went from 20 to 50 customers against a target of 60 scored (50 - 20) / (60 - 20) = 0.75.

  • 1.0 - the target was reached or passed.
  • 0.7 and up - the usual line for "achieved" on a stretch goal: you aimed high and got most of the way.
  • 0.3 to 0.7 - real progress, short of the target.
  • Under 0.3 - missed. Worth asking whether the target, the plan or the key result itself was wrong.

Consistently scoring 1.0 means the targets were too safe; consistently under 0.3 means they were guesses. Teams that set stretch goals expect to land around 0.6-0.7 on average.

Key results that should go down

Response time, churn or cost per lead improve by falling. Use the same formula with the start above the target: a response time that went from 6 hours to 2 against a target of 1 scored (6 - 2) / (6 - 1) = 0.8. No special case is needed as long as you keep start and target.

Score from the numbers, not from memory

The most common scoring problem is that nobody has the numbers on the last day, so the score becomes a vote. Two habits fix it:

  1. Check in every key result on a schedule - weekly for most teams. The score at the end is then just the last reading.
  2. Look at the forecast mid-quarter, not only the score at the end. A key result heading for 0.4 in week 6 can still be rescued; in week 13 it can only be explained. See how to forecast a goal.

What to do with each score

  • Done - achieved, or no longer worth pursuing at full effort. Record the score and close it.
  • Roll over - still important, not finished. Carry it into next quarter with fresh targets, starting from where you are now.
  • Drop - the world changed and the goal no longer matters. Dropping is a decision, not a failure; record why.

Write two or three sentences of retro per quarter: what moved the numbers, what didn't, what you'd change.

How GoalNexa scores a quarter

In GoalNexa a quarter is a cycle. Goals join it, and their metrics (key results) carry check-ins throughout. Closing the cycle:

  • suggests each goal's score from its progress (0-1), which you can change before saving;
  • marks it achieved from 0.7, partial from 0.3, otherwise missed - or dropped, if you drop it;
  • lets you mark each goal done, dropped, or rolled over into the next cycle - a rolled-over copy keeps its metrics and members, and a reading metric starts from its current value;
  • keeps a retro note and a scorecard of every goal's score.

A goal's progress is the average of its top-level metrics, each measured from start to target, so metrics that go down score correctly. Want a starting point? The templates have OKR examples for marketing, sales, engineering, product, support and recruiting.

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Try it with your own goals

GoalNexa tracks goals with numbers, forecasts each one and scores your quarters. Free plan, no card needed.