Table of Contents
The Objective's Life Cycle
Objectives in the Objectives grid can have one of three statuses: Not Started, In Progress, and Closed.
When a new objective is born, 👶 it starts with the 'Not Started' status—a preliminary state that signals work hasn't begun. You may click on the objective's code to view it, perhaps to learn more and prepare yourself. However you won't be able to track progress until it's started. Therefore, an objective in this state indicates that you should be focusing on other, more urgent tasks instead. (How long has it been since you updated your timesheets?) 🤔
When it’s time to start working on a goal, a user with the right permissions—potentially you—can start the objective, moving it into the 'In Progress' state. This allows you, your manager, or any assigned team member to start submitting audited check-ins as you progress toward the end goal. 🎯 This process is known as 'checking in'.
An objective can be closed by anyone with the necessary permissions once all of its key results have been closed. However, a 'Closed' status doesn’t always indicate full completion. For example, an objective may be closed at 80% if the overall deadline has passed, leading to the premature closing of one or several of its key results before reaching 100%. 📆
📚 Documentation tip: The upcoming sections will mention the Objectives Grid and certain permissions, which impact user access and visibility of the feature. Both topics were covered extensively in this article.
If your grid is still empty and you need help creating your first objective and key results, then this guide is for you! 😉
Interacting With Objectives
As with all our products, we want users to fully engage with Objectives, making their work both productive and enjoyable. How you can interact with each objective is determined by its current status, allowing users to use features in the product in ways that best support their workflow, while maintaining the required integrity for a successful OKR system.
🥜 In a nutshell: Once objectives are created, the primary interactions include:
Viewing their details, editing and deleting them.
Starting them, moving them to 'In Progress'.
Documenting progress through check-ins.
Closing key results and objectives.
Each of these interaction are detailed below. It is important to note, however that the following information assumes that the user attempting these actions has all necessary permissions.
If something seems off—such as a missing button—please contact your company’s Indigo administrator who manages user permissions and roles. You may be missing a required privilege, or certain privileges may be restricted according to your company's policy. 🔒
Viewing Objectives
Knowledge is power, 🧠 and this feature is designed to keep you proactive and informed about every objective present in your grid. That's why you can view an objective's details whenever you need—even before it leaves the 'Not Started' phase and after it's 'Closed'.
You can view these details in the View Objective window, accessed by clicking the unique code found in the leftmost column of the grid.
💡 Tip: Objectives can also be viewed from the Review section when linked to a performance review.
Go to the Review section.
Select the relevant review in the grid.
Press the Review Overview (wand) button next to the search bar.
Click the Linked Objective tab.
Editing and Deleting
Editing and Deleting
The View Objective window allows limited editing of its fields and key results, depending on the objective's status. For fairness and integrity, the following editing rules apply:
You can edit the Objective Name, Description and Dates at any time, as long as the objective is not 'Closed'.
Key results can be added or deleted as long as the objective is still 'Not Started'.
Existing key results can be edited as long as there are no existing check ins and the objective is not 'Closed'.
Don't forget to click Update at the bottom right when you're done editing!
📜 Note: Fields and key results in the window will always remain interactive and editable. However, if your edits violate the rules outlined above, clicking Update will trigger an error, and none of your changes will be saved.
Furthermore, as extra icing on the fairness and integrity cake, 🍰 all users—including those with the HR Administrator role—need the following permission to edit personal objectives: HR_PM_Manage_Personal_Objectives/Execute.
Only 'Not Started' objectives can be deleted. To do this, click the red Delete Objective button in the grid's rightmost column. This is irreversible, which is why we included a confirmation screen. Think before you click Confirm!
Opening Objectives
To open an objective click the blue Open Objective (>) button at the end of the relevant row in either the feature's main grid or any of its subsidiaries. Objectives can be opened regardless of their status, but the available interactions will depend on the current status of the objective.
📜 Note: In Performance Management, viewing and opening objectives are distinct actions. Opening an objective gives you access to interactions more crucial to the OKR process, such as starting objectives, recording progress, and closing key results.
Opening an objective triggers the following side panel to appear, displaying the highlighted information:
The assigned employee.
Key Results Completed: Shown as '# / total key results in objective'.
Progress bars: Two complementary progress bars which can be switched between using the Objective and Key Results buttons.
Overall Objective Progress: the bar shown by default. This bar displays a total progress percentage based on two factors: the number of key results that have been closed and the progress made on any remaining key results.
Key Results Progress: This focuses on progress specifically from the perspective of key results. Normally, both progress bars will display the same percentage. However, discrepancies will occur if a key result is closed before reaching 100% or exceeds 100% completion.
More details on this available in the hidden section below. 💡
Key Results section: Each key result is displayed on a card showing its status, current progress, and due date.
Clicking on any key result’s card will provide more details about that specific key result, including a Check-In Audit Log.
Start Objective button: Found only in 'Not Started' objectives, this button needs to be clicked to push the objective to 'In Progress' and start checking in progress.
When all key results are closed, the button will transform to a Close Objective button.
More Information: Progress Bars 💡
More Information: Progress Bars 💡
These two bars often display similar data, so why have both? 🌟 Data accuracy! 🌟
The Overall Objective Progress bar assumes that all closed key results are 100% complete, even if they were closed at less than full completion (like 50%). This can lead to less precise data, especially in cases where key results are closed early, such as when a deadline passes.
The Key Results Progress bar, on the other hand, calculates progress using the actual completion scores of closed key results. This makes it a better choice for accurately evaluating how much progress has been made from a key result perspective, providing a clearer measure of an employee's success at the key result level.
🧠 Example: How the two bars' percentages can vary.
An objective has three key results. If one key result is closed and another is 50% complete, the Overall Objective Progress bar will display 50%.
Total Objective Progress = (Sum of progress in all key results) / (Number of key results)
In this example: 50% = (100%+50%+0%)/3
In the same objective, if we close the started key result at 50%, the Overall Objective Progress bar will update itself to 66% (as two out of three results are closed), but the Key Results Progress bar will remain at 50%.
The second bar uses the same formula as the first, but does not assume closed key results are 100% complete. It instead uses their actual completion score. So in this example:
Total Objective Progress = (100%+100%+0%)/3 = 66%.
Key Results Progress = (100%+50%+0%)/3 = 50%.
Therefore:
Check the Overall Objective Progress bar as an indication of how many key results have been closed.
Check the Key Results Progress bar to accurately measure how successful the employee has been in fully completing key results.
Starting Objectives and Checking In
Progress on an objective happens when you or another employee works on its key results. You can then track all of this effort with the help of regular check-ins within each key result. These updates can be made once an objective is started, and until its closed.
To start an objective and log your first check-in:
Find the relevant 'Not Started' objective in the grid and click its blue '>' (Open Objective) button.
Click the blue Start Objective button at the bottom of the new screen.
This step will update its status in the grid and cause a Check In button to appear for every key result.
Find an appropriate key result and start working on it (or be ready to support the assigned employee do the same). 💪
Once an acceptable amount of progress is achieved, open the objective again, find the required key result(s) and click the relevant Check In button(s).
Fill in the New Value field. Optionally, adjust the date of the progress being recorded (default to current day) and add a remark.
⚠️ Note: when submitting a check-in for Percentage and Numeric key results, you’ll be replacing the Current Value with a new one, not adding or subtracting. For example, if the current value is 20 tickets sold, and you’ve sold 20 more, the number you need to fill in the field is '40' (20 + 20), not 20.
Yes/No key results instead give you a drop down choice between Not Completed and Completed.
Click Submit when ready.
🏆 Good Job! This marks your first step toward completing the key result and the overall objective. Continue repeating steps 3-6 until every key result is complete and can be closed. Alternatively, key results can also be closed if the deadline has passed or they are no longer relevant.
Accessing Audit Logs
Accessing Audit Logs
After multiple check-ins have been recorded for one or more key results, reviewing these updates becomes essential—especially when several people can edit details and log progress. Thankfully, you can rest assured that every change is tracked, as each key result has its own audit log. 🙏
To view an audit log, open the objective and click the related key result's card. The log is a grid available at the bottom of the new window.
Data can be sorted by clicking on any of the columns, which are listed from left to right as follows:
Check-In Date: This represents when the progress was made, which may differ from the Created On date below.
Checked-In Value: The new value after the check-in, which can present an increase (green) or decrease (red) from the previous Current Value. Decreases can occur when progress is lost, such as losing a sale or sponsor, or correcting an error.
Created By: The employee who checked in.
Key Result Code: The unique identifier.
Created On: The date of the check-in's submission.
Remark: Possible note left by the check-in creator.
Closing Key Results and Objectives
Key results with at least one check-in can be closed by clicking the Close Key Result button next to the Check In button on the card. Closed key results will:
Change their status at the top of their card to a green Completed.
Replace the Close Key Result and Check In buttons with a green check mark. ✔️
This makes them view-only.
Display a blue Re-Open Key Result arrow button above the green check mark.
Clicking this reverts the key result to its previous state, allowing new check-ins.
Once all key results are closed, the Close Objective button will appear at the bottom of the Open Objective screen. Click it to close the objective, permanently switching it to view-only. This action is irreversible.
⚠️ Important Reminder: When objectives are closed, it is not necessarily true that all of their key results were fully completed. While 'Closed' objectives may appear as 100% complete in the Objectives grid and Overall Objective Progress, key results can be closed before reaching 100%, often due to time constraints. For more information specific to the actual completion of key results, click here.
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