Meet the new BigPicture navigation
A faster, smarter, and more intuitive way to work is here. We’ve redesigned BigPicture navigation to give you a smoother experience and better access to what matters most.
→ Discover what’s new, explore key improvements, and review feature name updates on the New navigation page.
→ The rollout will happen gradually, and the previous navigation will be retired in September 2026.
Create Objective and sub-objective
What is an Objective and sub-objective?
In the context of OKR (Objectives and Key Results), an Objective is a clear and inspiring goal you aim to achieve. It is broad and aspirational, providing direction and motivation.
The Objective should be ambitious yet achievable, helping to focus efforts and drive progress. It is typically qualitative, describing what you want to accomplish and is set to be achieved within a specific timeframe, usually a quarter or a year.
You can additionally define sub-objectives. They represent smaller, more focused goals supporting the achievement of a larger Objective. A sub-objective breaks down a bigger goal into manageable parts, making it easier to track progress and stay on target.
Objective attributes
In BigPicture, an Objective and sub-objective have the following attributes (the attributes marked with an asterisk* are mandatory to provide during the (sub)Objective creation process):
Name* - Give a descriptive name for the goal you want to achieve.
Description - Provide a brief Objective description for your stakeholders.
Progress tracking - Select Child OKRs to enable automatic progress updates, or Manual to update progress manually.
Period* (Expected start and Expected end) - Select one of the pre-defined periods from the dropdown or create a custom one. Once you select the period, the start/end dates are automatically filled in.
Type - Select one of the pre-defined Objective types (Company, Personal, Team) or create a custom one.
Owner* - The Objective Owner field is automatically filled with the name of the person who creates an Objective, but you can edit it.
Collaborators - Add other people who are involved in achieving the Objective.
Teams - Add team(s) associated with the objective.
Labels - Add label(s) to find the Objective faster.
Sub-objective attributes
Sub-objectives have the same attributes as Objectives, with an added focus on contribution:
Contribution - Define a contribution % that reflects how much a given sub-objective contributes to its parent Objective's progress upon full completion. By default, all OKRs under the same Objective equally share the contribution, but you can edit their individual values.
Objective attributes on the Objective creation screen. | Sub-objective attributes on the sub-objective creation screen. |
|---|---|
 | |
Create an Objective
You can create an Objective for your initiative (project, program(s), or portfolio(s)) directly on the OKR Overview page or on the Tree view page.
While you are on the Create new Objective screen, you can restrict its visibility to selected users.
On the OKR Overview page
In the OKR module, navigate to the OKR Overview page.
From the top-right corner, click Add > Create Objective button.
On the Create Objective screen, fill in the Objective details (attributes).
Save to complete the process.
On the Tree view page
On the OKR Overview page, click More actions (…) next to the Objective and select Edit tree.
On the Tree view page, click the Create top-level objective button.
On the Create sub-objective screen, fill in the sub-objective details (attributes).
Click the Finish & go back to complete the process.
Create a sub-Objective
You can create a sub-objective for a specific Objective on the OKR Overview, and Tree view pages, and Objective details side panel.
On the OKR Overview page
In the OKR module, navigate to the OKR Overview page.
Find the Objective for which you want to create a sub-objective.
Click More actions (…) next to the Objective and select Add sub-objective from the dropdown.
On the Create sub-objective screen, fill in the sub-objective details (attributes).
Save to complete the process.
On the Tree view page
On the OKR Overview page, click More actions (…) next to the Objective and select Edit tree.
On the Tree view page, click the plus (+) button.
Select Add sub-objective from the dropdown.
On the Create sub-objective screen, fill in the sub-objective details (attributes).
Click the Finish & go back to complete the process.
On the Objective details side panel
On the OKR Overview page, click the Objective to open its details on the side panel.
On the panel, click More actions (…) and select Add sub-objective.
On the Create sub-objective screen, fill in the sub-objective details (attributes).
Save to complete the process.
On the Objective details page
On the OKR Overview page, click the Objective to open its details on the side panel.
On the panel, click More actions (…) and select Details.
On the Objective details page, scroll down to the Alignment section.
Under the Alignment, click the +Add button and select Sub-objective.
Alternatively, switch to the Sub-objectives tab under the Alignment and click the Create new Sub-objective button.
On the Create sub-objective screen, fill in the sub-objective details (attributes).
Click the Finish & go back to complete the process.