Ambitious Scrum Master Goals & OKRs: 5 Examples & Tips
As a trained psychologist and experienced Scrum Master, I know that setting clear, short and long-term goals is key to effective (agile) team leadership. In this blog post, I will address the question of which goals are particularly relevant for professional Scrum Masters. Let’s take a look together at the world of Scrum Master goal setting and objectives or OKRs.
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
The 5 levels of Scrum Master goal setting: a holistic approach
A simple example of a Scrum Master goal could be: “Promoting open communication in the team.” Here, the values of the Agile Manifesto, especially the manifesto principle “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools”, are the focus.
That’s good and certainly a commonly used approach - but let’s bring more structure to the whole thing. To ensure a comprehensive view of Scrum Master goal setting, I believe there are five crucial levels at which goals can not only be set but also made measurable - regardless of whether you are setting sprint goals, monthly goals, or quarterly Scrum Master goals.
1. Fulfillment of the sprint goals: Quite simply, if the sprint targets are continuously achieved, a core responsibility has already been achieved.
2. Continuous improvement: The second level relates to the continuous improvement of processes and working methods within the team. The introduction of measurable goals, such as the reduction of obstacles and bottlenecks, not only increases efficiency, but also sustainably improves the agile maturity level of the team.
3. Trust in the team: The third level focuses on trust within the team. Objectives aimed at promoting communication and resolving conflicts constructively play a key role in creating a supportive team environment. Mutual trust is the lubricating oil of the team engine room.
4. Team satisfaction: The fourth level concerns satisfaction in the team, which certainly correlates with trust in the team, for example. Measurable indicators here could be active participation in team activities, but also the results of surveys.
5. Created customer value: The fifth and final level focuses on the customer value created. This is arguably the most important level. It’s nice if you achieve your sprint goals - but were the sprint goals even aligned to create value for end users?
These five levels offer a holistic approach to Scrum Master goal setting. By setting clear and measurable goals at each level, not only is individual performance improved, but the entire agile ecosystem is also optimized at various levels.
In the best case, of course, this logic is used not just in one team, but in many teams, probably to set regular quarterly goals for Scrum Masters.
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Scrum Master goal setting: How to get it right
Setting goals as a Scrum Master requires a structured approach. Start with a clear definition of your role in the context of the team and company, taking into account the agile manifesto.
Are you just starting out with agile methods? Then an example could be: “Ensuring that all team members understand agile principles and apply them in their work.” This would create a connection between the individual objective and the overarching principles of the Agile Manifesto.
To ensure that the goals set are effective, it is essential to apply the SMART criteria. The SMART method – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound – provides a structured framework to clearly define goals and ensure they are achievable.
For example, a SMART formulated goal could be: “Increase customer satisfaction by 15% within the next six sprints by reflecting the results of customer surveys in the development process.”
As a Scrum Master, do you think this is too difficult for you to achieve? Then at least do what you can: once a month, for example in retrospectives, consciously reflect on whether customer feedback is being sufficiently taken into account in your iteration cycles.
Basically, this approach ensures that Scrum Master goals are not only motivating, but also strategically aligned to lead the entire team towards success.
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Good short and long-term goals for Scrum Master
Good short and long-term goals for a Scrum Master are characterized by their focus on the areas mentioned above. Some things simply take a very long time to achieve, while others are easy to solve.
Short-term goals could, for example, aim to identify the current challenges in the team and proactively offer solutions. This could be the promotion of open communication through the introduction of dailies.
Long-term goals should be aimed at fostering a sustainable and self-organized team dynamic. This includes developing skills within the team to work more autonomously, as well as introducing advanced agile practices. Another long-term goal could be to create an agile culture within the entire organization by having the Scrum Master promote agile values and principles in all departments. Overall, a Scrum Master should design their goals to support the continuous evolution of the team and the organization towards greater agility - always aligned with the 5 areas mentioned above.
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Scrum Master goals: Some examples of good goals
A broad range of objectives is crucial to cover the complexity of the Scrum Master role. Here are some examples of good objectives:
- Scrum Master Goal Example: Increase team satisfaction by 15%, measured by implementing regular surveys in conjunction with retrospectives (for example, using a tool such as Echometer).
- Scrum Master goal example: Complete achievement of the sprint goal within the next 3 sprints through more consistent shielding of management requests
- Scrum Master Objective Example: Promote agile skills by offering monthly training on agile best practices to other teams in the company.
- Scrum Master Goal Example: Coaching team members by conducting one-time 30-minute one-on-one coaching sessions for individual development. Focus is on understanding needs - not “solutions.”
- Scrum Master Objective Example: Promote the agile mindset by initiating an internal exchange program for best practices between different agile teams.
- Scrum Master Goal Example: If this is the bottleneck: Implement an improved feedback mechanism for customers by the end of next month to ensure that customer feedback is incorporated into the development process in a timely manner.
- Scrum Master Objective Example: Introduce a quarterly cross-departmental meeting to identify and resolve dependencies between different departments in order to increase the overall efficiency of the company.
- Scrum Master Goal Example: Improving the “Return on Time Invest” or ROTI score in meetings by 10%, as measured by surveys (for example, through a tool like Echometer).
- Scrum Master Goal Example: Conducting monthly team events with a focus on building trust - and having fun.
- Scrum Master Goal Example: Increase the subjective satisfaction of developers (measured by surveys, e.g. by Echometer) on their satisfaction with their focus working time by 10%
- Scrum Master Objective Example: Improve internal knowledge sharing through the gradual introduction of weekly pair programming sessions by the end of next month
Scrum Master method: one-to-one meetings
Use one-to-one meetings for personal coaching sessions
I would also like to give you a direct method here on how you as a Scrum Master can move your team forward and at the same time generate meaningful metrics: in one-to-one meetings.
If, for example, you hold a 30-minute meeting with each team member every three to six weeks to reflect on the status quo - similar to a personal retrospective - this can have an immense effect on team development.
Specifically, such an exchange is particularly valuable when team members set their own goals - and when you bring good questions.
Relevant questions are good if they ask about the key prerequisites for a satisfied, productive employee. This is where our 1-to-1 meeting tool with a large library of questions comes into play.
The following example template shows you which questions you can discuss in your one-on-one meeting - and, above all, measure. This allows you to define completely new but meaningful key results that contribute to all five levels mentioned:
⁉️ Mood check (agreement from 1-7): Personal development
- "My work tasks usually progress very quickly, even if external feedback is necessary."
- "When I observe suboptimal behavior, I know how to constructively address colleagues."
- "I receive constructive Feedback on both my work and my personal development."
- "I see an attractive career path ahead of me in the company." #Growth
- "In the last few weeks, I have very often been able to use my strengths at work."
This is what this survey looks like in Echometer:
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Scrum Master Objective and Key Results (OKRs): How to apply the framework
The OKR framework provides an effective method for tracking goals. It follows a clear hierarchy: Objectives represent overarching, strategic goals, while Key Results represent concrete, measurable results. It is often used in agile companies to improve alignment between business units and performance at various levels, for example, to set quarterly goals or “Objectives.”
An example of an Objective could be: “Increase customer satisfaction.” The associated Key Results could be the number of customer surveys conducted per quarter and the customer ratings after each release. But let’s look at some more examples.
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Scrum Master Objective and Key Results (OKRs): 3 examples
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Scrum Master Objective: Increase team efficiency.
- Scrum Master Key Result 1: Reduction of blockages by 20%.
- Scrum Master Key Result 2: Improvement of sprint retrospective ratings by 15%.
- Scrum Master Key Result 3: Increase in sprint target fulfillment by 25%.
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Scrum Master Objective: Promoting team learning and knowledge sharing.
- Scrum Master Key Result 1: Introduction of monthly pair programming sessions.
- Scrum Master Key Result 2: Increase in participation in internal training courses by 30%.
- Scrum Master Key Result 3: Creation of a knowledge management plan.
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Scrum Master Objective: Improving the agile culture in the company.
- Scrum Master Key Result 1: Implementation of agile training for the marketing department.
- Scrum Master Key Result 2: Implementation of agile best practices in the management team.
- Scrum Master Key Result 3: Increase in satisfaction with own productivity (measured in surveys) through agile methods by 10%.
"Many team members are afraid to speak up!"
Solve this challenge
"We discover too many unexpected issues & bugs at a late stage!"
Solve this challenge
"Why does it sometimes take me hours to prepare a simple retrospective?"
Solve this challengeScrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
A great help with Scrum Master goals: Echometer
Scrum Master goals work in a similar way to the goals, objectives and key results of other managers, but are unfortunately rarely actually set accordingly. As you have seen, many goals can be set at a subjective employee level.
This is where the agile retrospective and health check tool Echometer comes in, which combines surveys and retrospectives to enable goal measurement - and at the same time inspires. Because we have a library of over 200 areas that can be improved as a Scrum Master, in the form of our survey library.
Echometer is a digital tool that helps agile team leads with agile retrospectives and team Health Checks. Whether remote, hybrid or on-site: it makes team coaching measurable and professionalizes your work while saving you a lot of work. Just take a look at our website to find out more: www.echometerapp.com.
If you set goals as a Scrum Master - and communicate them externally - you are already further than most Scrum Masters.
Christian Heidemeyer, Psychologist & Scrum Master
Scrum Master goal examples: Objectives and Key Results
Conclusion: OKRs as Scrum Masters
The definition and pursuit of clear Scrum Master goals, objectives and key results are crucial for the success of agile teams. Applying agile principles to goal setting not only improves individual performance, but also guides the team as a whole towards sustainable agility.
Lastly, a reminder: If you would like to try out how it feels to develop your team further with our tool: You can start an agile retrospective without logging in below, in this case the “Keep, Stop, Start” workshop.
Alternatively, simply forward our website to the responsible colleagues: www.echometerapp.com.
