Output vs. outcome vs. OKR
A one-page test for which one your roadmap is actually measuring.
An output is a thing you shipped. An outcome is a behaviour change in someone else. An OKR is a commitment to a specific outcome within a specific window.
The test: could you deliver it while the customer's world stays identical? Then it is an output. "Launch the onboarding redesign" is an output; "new teams reach first value within a day" is an outcome.
Both belong in a plan. The failure is labelling — teams commit to outputs, hit them all, and report a green quarter while every metric that mattered sits flat.
The shape of it
- 01
Output
Shipped the thing. Fully within your control.
- 02
Outcome
Someone behaves differently. Partly outside your control.
- 03
Impact
The business result the outcome produces. Slow and shared.
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