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Associate Assets with OKRs

Associate portfolio items, stories, defects, and strategic themes with OKRs to enable better alignment between strategic goals and execution. Link work items with public OKRs (read-only or editable) to:

  • Align work directly with manager, team, or organizational OKRs
  • Strengthen visibility into how day-to-day work contributes to strategic outcomes
  • Support collaboration across teams by connecting individual or portfolio-level efforts with shared objectives

Who Associates Assets with OKRs​

Asset association enables comprehensive OKR tracking:

  • Product Owners associate product backlog items and stories with key results to demonstrate how features advance product objectives.
  • Portfolio Managers link portfolio items and strategic themes with objectives to show how investments support strategic priorities.
  • Team Members connect stories and defects to key results during execution to show how daily work supports measurable goals.
  • Program Managers review asset associations across value streams to understand resource allocation and identify execution gaps.

Permission Requirement​

To associate assets with OKRs: Users need Agility Pro or Premium license with edit access to the work item (story, portfolio item, defect, theme). Only publicly visible OKRs can be associated.

To view OKR associations: All users with view access to the work item can see associated objectives and key results in the OKRs tab.

To remove associations: Users with edit access to the work item can remove any OKR association.

Associate Portfolio Items with Objectives​

  1. Click the hamburger icon Hamburger icon > Portfolio > Portfolio Tree.
  2. Select a Portfolio Item and click the OKRs tab.
  3. In the Associated Objectives section, click + Assign.
  4. In the search bar, enter the Objective ID or Title.
  5. Select the Objective and click Assign.

The objective is associated with the selected portfolio item.

Note: Users can add Epic or Strategic Theme while creating and updating OKRs. Similar steps apply for associating a Story or Defect with OKRs.

Associate Portfolio Items with Key Results​

  1. Click the hamburger icon Hamburger icon > Portfolio > Portfolio Tree.
  2. Select a Portfolio Item and click the OKRs tab.
  3. In the Associated Key Results section, click + Assign.
  4. In the search bar, enter the Objective ID or Title.
  5. Select the Objective and click Assign.

The key result is associated with the portfolio item.

Note: Users can add Epic or Story while creating and updating Key Results.

Associate Objectives with Strategic Themes​

Link objectives with Strategic Themes to ensure that all initiatives contribute to a common vision.

  1. Click the hamburger icon Hamburger icon > Portfolio > Portfolio Tree.
  2. Select a Portfolio Item and click the OKRs tab.
  3. In the Associated Key Results section, click + Assign.
  4. In the search bar, enter the Objective ID or Title.
  5. Select the Objective and click Assign.

The objective is associated with the Strategic Theme.

To remove an objective from the associated Strategic Theme, click the Remove button. At the confirmation message "Are you sure you want to remove this associated Objective?", click Remove.

Troubleshooting​

Why can't I find an objective or key result to associate?

Objectives must be set to Publicly Readable or Publicly Editable to appear in search results. Private OKRs cannot be associated with work items. Contact the OKR owner to change the visibility setting.

Why don't I see the OKRs tab in my portfolio item?

The OKR feature toggle must be enabled in your Agility instance. Contact your administrator to enable OKR functionality. Also verify you have Agility Pro or Premium license and the required Digital.ai Identity Service configuration.

Can I associate a portfolio item with both objectives and key results?

Yes. Portfolio items support associations with both objectives and key results to show how work contributes at multiple strategic levels. This is useful when work supports both high-level goals and specific measurable outcomes.

What happens to associations when I delete an OKR?

Deleting objectives or key results removes all work item associations automatically. Work items remain unchanged but lose the OKR connection. Review all associations before deleting OKRs to understand downstream impact.