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Goal-Setting Framework#

MSX uses a lightweight OKR-based framework to connect strategic direction to day-to-day work. The hierarchy runs from the organization's reason to exist down to individual deliverables tracked in GitHub issues.

Layers#

Layer Lives in Purpose
Mission Pinned issue in the org .github repository The org's reason to exist — make great software delivery the default: easy, fast, and safe
OKR Sub-issues of the Mission Qualitative objectives + measurable key results
Initiative Sub-issues of an OKR A concrete organization-level bet to move a Key Result

Why OKRs and not KPIs#

  • Objectives are qualitative, aspirational, and outside-in. They describe a state of the world we want to see.
  • Key Results are measurements that confirm the Objective is being met. They drive incentive in the right direction without prescribing the path.

A good OKR is one that anyone — contributor, user, or agent — can read and immediately have ideas about how to contribute. See Principles for the full rationale.

Current OKRs#

OKRs are tracked as sub-issues of the Mission issue in the org .github repository. They evolve over time; the direction they encode stays constant:

  • Every developer — and every agent — ships with confidence.
  • Automation handles the mechanical, so human attention is spent on judgment.
  • AI is a first-class, reliable contributor to the work.

From strategy to delivery#

Mission, OKR, and Initiative are the strategy layers. The strategy boundary sits above Epic: an Initiative links to the repository Epics that deliver its outcome, and each participating repository owns its own Epic. The canonical Issue Hierarchy owns all decomposition and delivery semantics from Epic downward.

Mission (org-level, evergreen)
└── OKR (qualitative objective + key results)
    └── Initiative (concrete bet to move a KR)
        ├── Epic (repository A)
        └── Epic (repository B)

The arrow from Initiative to Epic is a strategy-to-delivery link, not a replacement for the native relationships inside a repository. Epic and lower issue types follow the Issue Planning and Issue Relationships guidance.