Implementing OKRs to Enhance Core Contributor Collaboration

Owned by Jorge Londoño
Last updated: Oct 29, 2024 by Cassie Zamparini
3 min read

Proposal has been withdrawn by @Jorge Londoño due to lack of capacity. Please let us know if you or someone on your team would like to complete the work outlined in this proposal..

Topic

Indicate which topic your proposal falls under:

Enhance Core Contributor Onboarding
Improve Collaboration, Communication & Reporting
Improve Fulfilling Commitments and Planning Processes
Improve Review Processes

 

Overview 🎯

The Open edX community has grown significantly, and we need to ensure that our contributors are aligned with strategic objectives. By introducing OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), we can provide clarity, focus, and measurable outcomes that will enhance the experience of core contributors and ensure their time and effort contribute to key goals. OKRs will help create transparency, increase motivation, and track progress efficiently.

 

Solution 💡

The solution is to implement OKRs at the Core Contributor level to ensure that all contributions are aligned with community-wide objectives, enhancing both individual and group impact. Each quarter, contributors will set OKRs that are:

  • Specific to the community’s needs (e.g., reducing review times, increasing contributions).

  • Measurable using clear KPIs (e.g., PRs closed, onboarding success).

  • Aligned with the community’s broader goals.

  • Time-bound to ensure clear progress within a given timeframe.

The implementation of OKRs will help the Core Contributor Program by:

  1. Setting Clear Objectives: Define clear, measurable objectives that align with the community’s strategic goals. These objectives will guide contributors to focus their efforts on high-impact tasks that drive progress.

  2. Tracking Key Results: Each objective will be accompanied by key results that act as quantifiable measures of success. Contributors can track progress over time, ensuring they know how their efforts contribute to broader community goals.

  3. Enhancing Accountability and Transparency: OKRs provide a transparent way to track the commitments and contributions of individuals and teams. This system will allow for better visibility into ongoing work, facilitating resource allocation and progress assessment.

  4. Improving Focus and Coordination: By aligning contributors' efforts to community-wide objectives, OKRs help avoid overlapping work and ensure that contributors’ efforts are coordinated and impactful.

  5. Boosting Engagement: Contributors will have a clear understanding of their role in achieving community goals. The OKR system motivates contributors by giving them ownership of their work, promoting a sense of accomplishment as they see progress toward key results.

Key steps for the solution:

  1. Define OKRs at multiple levels (Core Contributor, working groups, overall community).

  2. Integrate OKR tracking into our existing tools like GitHub and Atlassian Wiki 📊.

  3. Host quarterly OKR reviews to evaluate progress and celebrate wins 🏆.

  4. Provide onboarding and guidance to ensure contributors understand how to set OKRs and track their progress.

 

Impact 📈

The impact of OKRs will be measured by:

  • Increased participation in community sprints and key initiatives.

  • Aligning efforts with strategic goals: Contributors will be able to focus on the most impactful initiatives, ensuring that community resources are used efficiently. 

  • Greater retention of new contributors, as clear objectives and results will motivate their continued involvement.

  • A higher rate of goal achievement, ensuring contributors feel their time is valuable and making a difference.

 

Success metrics:

  • Completion Rate of Key Results: Tracking how many key results are completed within the specified quarter.

  • Contributor Satisfaction: Surveys will be used to measure contributor satisfaction with the new planning process and accountability structure.

  • Engagement Levels: Tracking the number of contributors participating in OKR setting and review cycles.

 

Timeline ⏰

  • Month 1 (Preparation):

    • Define the community-level OKRs for the upcoming quarter.

    • Develop resources (guides, templates) for contributors on how to create and track their OKRs.

  • Month 2 (Launch):

    • Host OKR workshops to onboard contributors to the process.

    • Set up OKR tracking using community tools.

  • Months 3-4 (Review and Adjustment):

    • Begin the first OKR cycle, with regular check-ins to track progress.

    • Collect feedback from contributors to adjust the process as needed.

  • Quarterly Cycles (Ongoing):

    • Run quarterly OKR setting and review cycles.

    • Continuously refine the process based on feedback and results.