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How to Perform Alignment Analysis

Audience: Strategy Manager, Manager Page Type: How-To Duration: 1-2 hours

Goal​

In Alignment Analysis:

  1. ✅ Check for conflicts between Corporate OKRs
  2. ✅ Verify that Unit OKRs are linked to Corporate OKRs
  3. ✅ Verify that KPIs are tied to OKRs
  4. ✅ Identify gaps and overlaps

Alignment Levels​

Vision (Corporate goal)
  ↓
Focus Areas (Strategic pillars)
  ↓
Corporate OKRs (Top-level goals)
  ↓
Unit OKRs (Team goals)
  ↓
KPIs (Daily measured metrics)

✓ Full alignment = All levels connected
✗ Gap = Disconnect in chain

Step 1: Corporate OKR Alignment Check​

  1. Strategy → OKR
  2. List of all corporate OKRs
  3. For each OKR: 
    Q: Focus Area linked? ✓
    Q: Key Results measurable? ✓
    Q: Owner clear? ✓
    Q: No conflict with other OKRs? ✓

Conflicts to check:

Example conflict:
├─ OKR 1: "Expand in Asia" (Need investment)
└─ OKR 2: "Reduce cost by 30%" (Contradictory)

Resolution: Adjust one OKR, clarify priority

Step 2: Unit OKR Alignment​

  1. Strategy → Unit OKRs
  2. Each unit OKR should support ≥1 corporate OKR
Corporate: "Expand Asia"
  ↓
Unit OKR 1: "Hire 50 sales reps in Asia"
Unit OKR 2: "Build Asia customer base = 500"
Unit OKR 3: "Establish Asia office"

All aligned to corporate OKR ✓

Step 3: KPI-OKR Linking​

  1. Dashboard → Metrics view
  2. Each OKR's Key Results tied to KPI?
OKR KR1: "Revenue from Asia = 50M"
  ↓
KPI: "Weekly Asia revenue" (updated daily/weekly)

Link exists? ✓

Step 4: Identification of Gaps​

Gap Type 1: Orphaned OKR​

OKR: "Improve employee retention"
Focus Area: [NONE]
Status: ❌ No focus area support
Action: Link to focus area or remove OKR

Gap Type 2: Unaligned Unit OKR​

Corporate: "Expand market"
Unit OKR: "Internal process optimization"
Status: ❌ No connection
Action: Clarify connection or adjust unit OKR

Gap Type 3: KPI Not Measured​

OKR KR1: "Customer satisfaction = 90%"
KPI: [NONE]
Status: ❌ Can't measure
Action: Create or link KPI

Step 5: Alignment Report​

  1. Dashboard → Alignment view
  2. System shows:
    • Focus Area → OKR mapping (visual)
    • OKR → KPI links
    • Coverage % (% of OKRs properly aligned)

Example:

Vision Coverage: 95%
└─ Focus Area 1: 100% OKR coverage
└─ Focus Area 2: 90% OKR coverage
└─ Focus Area 3: 85% OKR coverage (2 OKRs unaligned)

Verification Checklist​

✅ Checklist:

  • All corporate OKRs have focus areas
  • No conflicting OKRs
  • Unit OKRs aligned to corporate
  • All KRs have KPI measures
  • Coverage > 90%

Tips​

✅ Best practices:

  • Quarterly alignment review
  • Resolve gaps before Q1 starts
  • Use dashboard alignment view
  • Document exceptions

See also​