Information is king, but you have to use it wisely to succeed. Too many metrics can spoil the broth and push your organization into chaos. Using misaligned KPIs and OKRs for software engineers may result in missed opportunities, bitterness, and even getting out of the business. Here’s what you can do to align business & IT goals with the help of cutting-edge metrics. And to make the most of them.
A QUICK SUMMARY – FOR THE BUSY ONES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
As a CTO, you’ve likely faced the frustration of business and technical teams being misaligned. Mismatched priorities, delays, and features that don’t support broader goals can derail progress. You’ve probably been overwhelmed by numbers and metrics that were meant to provide clarity but instead only added to the confusion.
A remedy for this disease is creating synergy and seamless collaboration on the business-IT front and using the right metrics to measure the outcome of these shared efforts. Indeed, evaluating how development work translates into business results can be difficult, and CTOs often need help identifying which initiatives have the highest impact.
Business-IT alignment is crucial especially when scaling or launching new products, and the role of metrics in supporting this process cannot be overstated. The right measurements are also vital when CTOs drive process improvements – they evaluate the way such enhancements impact both the development cycle and business outcomes. By understanding how metrics like OKRs for software engineers and KPIs serve business-IT alignment, CTOs can make better-informed strategic decisions about where to focus engineering resources.
However, too many metrics can overburden rather than inform. That’s why, CTOs need guidance on which KPIs and which OKR examples for software engineers truly support business-IT alignment. This will help them avoid metrics that don’t support strategic goals. It’s especially important in times when market dynamics and business needs shift rapidly, making it challenging to adjust metrics that remain relevant to evolving priorities.
"Developers must stay attuned to real-time feedback from both customers and stakeholders, allowing them to adapt quickly and deliver solutions that align with current needs." - From Vision to Code: A Guide to Aligning Business Strategy with Software Development Goals report by Brainhub.
<span class="colorbox1" es-test-element="box1"><p>To dive deeper into achieving business & IT alignment, download our new report, "From Vision to Code: A Guide to Aligning Business Strategy with Software Development Goals."</p></span>
Using metrics like software development KPIs and OKRs, as well as Agile methodologies, can certainly help achieve business & IT goals alignment across teams in many organizations. Properly used metrics simply let development teams achieve the company’s aspirations and ambitions faster and smoother. With business and IT teams aligned, the whole organization can benefit from:
Let’s put the lights on KPIs first. Actually, these performance measurements have been in the limelight for years as they are famous for being quantifiable, versatile, and useful. Every manager or CTO knows that they help track progress towards development goals that support business objectives – and thus are crucial. However, not all CTOs are aware that the business-IT alignment is so advantageous.
KPIs are specific, measurable metrics that can be used for virtually any area in the organization and by any team, from Sales and Marketing to Customer Service and Human Resources. Of course, IT is no exception in this regard. There are many useful KPIs for software engineers, including:
Of course, it’s just a handful of examples and the total number of software development KPIs is way higher. It’s also ever-increasing – the thing is to only use KPIs that are truly vital in your business case – and ones that will help you balance technical output with business demands.
But how CTOs can use software development KPIs to drive business-IT alignment? It’s crucial to set 3-5 shared KPIs and goals, common for developers and business teams, so that both parties are on the same page. This usually requires significant effort as they are not initially a perfect match. It’s great if business leaders and IT teams create those shared objectives together, organize a goal-setting meeting for all leaders involved, and then review and adjust KPIs on a regular basis.
"The best way to align for the present is through regular communication on the team's business KPIs and a corresponding analysis of the fluctuations." — Nikita Belokopytov, Senior Engineering Manager, Playrix [source: From Vision to Code report]
OKRs is probably a lesser-known term, but, in fact, Objectives and Key Results may serve a similar purpose as KPIs. Which means: goal alignment. With OKRs’ help, organizations can track progress with goals and outcomes that they set. Those metrics are clear, tangible, and easy to measure which lets software engineers work on them seamlessly and make sure that all new features or improvements are well-embedded in overall business goals.
OKRs software development uses are all about setting objectives within a collaborative management approach. OKRs for software engineers should reflect the company’s priorities (e.g. for the next year) and be aligned with its general strategic vision. OKRs must be communicated across particular teams, but not in a top-down way; particular units should be able to craft their own OKRs, too, in a spirit of collaboration, transparency, and continuous effort.
The examples of OKRs for development teams are endless. OKR examples for software engineers may cover, for instance:
For every OKR, a timeframe, like 3, 6, or 12 months, should be given.
Usually, there are 3-5 Key Results for every Objective:
Setting clear goals – something that using OKRs entails – is one thing, but integrating OKRs into sprints is a step further on the way to successfully reaching them. Assessing the progress and discussing ways of improvement lets teams keep the focus on strategic goals with flexibility in the workflow. This way, OKRs for software engineers can smoothly be integrated into Agile methodologies.
One of the numerous benefits that Agile practices like Scrum and Kanban bring to the table is that they support continuous alignment. They simply help IT team members – and CTOs – always keep track of what currently is being worked on and, whenever necessary, swiftly implement modifications as a result of received feedback or changes in a business environment.Agile methodologies help developers keep both vision and code aligned with strategic goals throughout the whole development cycle:
"Balancing competing priorities is key, as business teams focus on market-driven features while developers prioritize technical debt and maintainability. A shared roadmap, built collaboratively through sprint planning, standups, and product demos, enables both teams to adapt to evolving needs sustainably. Regular product reviews and iterative cycles with business stakeholders help maintain this alignment, allowing adjustments based on real-time feedback from customers and stakeholders." — Benedykt Dryl, Head of Engineering, Brainhub [source: From Vision to Code report]
Another handy tool that development teams use for translating business goals into actionable narratives is NCTs (or Narrative, Context, Tasks) which goes a bit deeper than OKR goals. NCTs’ strength lies in clarifying the business context behind a feature that lets software engineers determine priorities in line with specific business needs:
"We use NCTs (Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks), which are similar to OKRs. Where they improve on OKRs is because they add more clarity on the why (through the narratives) and the how (through the commitments)." — James Trunk, VP of Engineering, Griffin Bank Ltd. [source: From Vision to Code report]
NCTs are great at bridging the gap between strategy and execution, as well as enhancing motivation in achieving goals. With NCTs, CTOs can help developers understand the why behind their tasks, strengthening business-IT alignment. The NCT method is proper for many difficult situations IT teams face, e.g. in issues involving technical debt. That’s because its structured approach helps developers make reasonable decisions quickly and choose tasks that are more urgent business-wise first.
Metrics like KPIs, OKRs software development uses, and Agile methodologies can help your organization align business & IT goals smoothly. Of course, it all comes down to selecting the right metrics. If you don’t choose them properly, you may get lost quickly, feel overwhelmed, and waste a lot of time and money. And, eventually, know even less than before.
"Achieving effective BizDev alignment is essential for ensuring that business goals and product development are in sync. This alignment enables the software being developed to directly reflect the company’s vision and objectives, bridging the gap between market demands and technical execution. True alignment is achieved when developers understand not only what needs to be built but also why certain features are prioritized, reinforcing the impact of their work on broader business outcomes." — Mateusz Konieczny, Tech Evangelist, Brainhub [source: From Vision to Code report]
Bridging the knowledge gap between business objectives and technical execution is difficult; the right metrics and methodologies in BizDev (Business-Development) alignment can certainly help. CTOs can gain a competitive edge if they learn to monitor IT performance through a business lens and act strategically instead of using short-term fixes.Crafting a roadmap shared by business and IT teams alike may seem to be a small step for a CTO, but, in fact, it’s a giant leap for the entire company. Business-IT alignment and using metrics such as OKRs and KPIs for software engineers let CTOs clarify priorities, enhance team focus, and connect engineering efforts directly to business goals. And this, inevitably, brings results.
Feeling overwhelmed by too many metrics or misaligned KPIs? Want to be truly effective and only use metrics that support your strategic goals? If you’d like to supercharge your business with KPIs, OKRs, and Agile methodologies but don’t know how to adjust metrics to evolving priorities and market dynamics, contact Brainhub today.
Our promise
Every year, Brainhub helps 750,000+ founders, leaders and software engineers make smart tech decisions. We earn that trust by openly sharing our insights based on practical software engineering experience.
Authors
Software development enthusiast with 7 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Experienced in outsourcing market analysis, with a special focus on nearshoring. In the meantime, our expert in explaining tech, business, and digital topics in an accessible way. Writer and translator after hours.
With over 12 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Technology passionate, geek, and the co-founder of Brainhub. Combines his tech expertise with business knowledge.
Software development enthusiast with 7 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Experienced in outsourcing market analysis, with a special focus on nearshoring. In the meantime, our expert in explaining tech, business, and digital topics in an accessible way. Writer and translator after hours.
With over 12 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Technology passionate, geek, and the co-founder of Brainhub. Combines his tech expertise with business knowledge.
Read next
Popular this month
previous article in this collection
It's the first one.
