What is Parent-Child Rollup?
Parent-child rollup automatically calculates and updates parent OKR progress based on its contributing children—no manual math, no spreadsheets, no human error. As your teams update their individual OKRs, parent objectives instantly reflect the true organizational progress.
Key benefits:
Automatic calculations: Parent progress updates in real-time as children change
Always accurate: Eliminates manual calculation errors and inconsistencies
Saves time: No need to manually aggregate progress across teams
Override flexibility: Parent OKR owners can switch to manual updates when needed
✅ Available now: Automatic progress rollup with manual override option
🔜 Coming soon: Automatic status rollup (currently requires manual check-ins)
Quick Start Guide
3 simple steps to enable automatic rollup:
Align – Connect child items to parent OKRs
Configure – Set children to contribute to parent progress
Watch it work – Parent progress automatically updates as children change (no manual work needed!)
Key Concepts
Why Alignment Matters
Alignment creates a visual hierarchy showing how work connects to strategic goals. Think of it as your organizational roadmap.
Real-world value:
Visibility: Everyone sees how their work impacts company goals
Context: Teams understand dependencies and related initiatives
Planning: Leaders identify gaps and overlaps in strategy
Communication: Stakeholders quickly grasp organizational priorities
Why Contribution Control Matters
Contribution lets you choose which aligned items actually affect parent progress calculations. This gives you flexibility in tracking different types of work and metrics.
When to ENABLE contribution (item affects parent progress):
Core metrics that define parent achievement (usually lag indicators)
Direct deliverables required for parent success
Critical path items where delays impact the parent
Results that directly measure parent success
When to DISABLE contribution (align only, no rollup):
Lead indicators that predict future performance
Experimental initiatives with uncertain impact
Stretch goals beyond realistic targets
Support work that enables but doesn't directly deliver results
Cross-functional dependencies owned by other teams
💡 Remember: All contributing items must be aligned, but not all aligned items need to contribute.
Understanding Lead vs. Lag Indicators
One of the most powerful uses of contribution control is separating lead indicators (predictive) from lag indicators (results).
Real Example: Sales Performance
Parent Objective: Close $10M in New Business (Q4)
Contributing (Lag Indicators - Actual Results):
✅ Enterprise deals closed: $4M → Contributes
✅ Mid-market deals closed: $3M → Contributes
Parent Progress: $7M of $10M = 70%
Non-Contributing (Lead Indicators - Predictive Signals) but aligned:
Pipeline generated: $45M → Doesn't contribute (3-month predictor)
Qualified opportunities: 200 → Doesn't contribute (2-month predictor)
Discovery calls: 500 → Doesn't contribute (4-month predictor)
Why this works: Parent shows actual revenue. Lead indicators provide early warning without inflating results. If pipeline drops below $30M, you know you'll miss target in 3 months.
Contribution Examples by Function
Sales: Contribute (revenue, deals closed) | Align only (pipeline, activities)
Product: Contribute (MAU, retention rate) | Align only (activation rate, engagement)
Customer Success: Contribute (churn rate, renewals) | Align only (NPS, health scores)
Engineering: Contribute (features shipped, uptime) | Align only (velocity, code quality)
Setup Guide
Changing the Default Contribution Rules
Required: OKR Admin permissions
The default rules are set up to model OKR best practices but can be changed by your OKR admin to match unique needs of your program.
Go to Settings → Model Customization
Define which OKR types can align to other types
Set default contribution rules for each object type
Save your configuration
Overriding Contribution Setting of Specific Children
Creating Alignments
Open the OKR (Objective, Key Result, or Initiative)
Find the "Aligned To" section
Select the parent item
Choose contribution setting:
"Contribute to this [Parent]'s progress" – Include in rollup calculations
"Don't contribute to this [Parent]'s progress" – Align for context only
Setting Parent Update Method
Parent OKR owners have the flexibility to choose between automatic rollup and manual updates, giving you control when you need it.
To configure from Parent main view:
Open the parent OKR
Click the actual value displayed next to "Current Value"
Choose update method:
"Update automatically based on rollup" – Calculate from contributing children (recommended default)
"Update manually" – Override rollup with manual entries (for special circumstances)
Save your selection
When to use manual override:
Qualitative adjustments: When numbers don't tell the whole story
Weighted importance: When some unmeasured factors significantly impact success
Executive judgment: Strategic adjustments based on broader context
Temporary issues: Excluding temporary setbacks that don't reflect true progress
Example: Your product launch OKR shows 70% complete based on child metrics, but you know a critical regulatory approval (not tracked as an OKR) is pending. You might manually set it to 60% to reflect this reality.
Manual override during check-in:
You can also switch progress update method on parent from automatic to manual while making a checkin.
Start check-in on parent OKR
Click on contribution option below the progress
Choose update method:
"Update automatically based on rollup" – Calculate from contributing children (recommended default)
"Update manually" – Override rollup with manual entries (for special circumstances)
Perform the checkin
💡 Best practice: Use automatic rollup as your default. Switch to manual only when you have context the numbers can't capture. Always document why you're overriding in your check-in notes.
How Rollup Calculations Work
The Power of Automatic Calculation
Without rollup: You manually calculate parent progress, update spreadsheets, chase down team updates, and hope the math is right.
With rollup: The system does all the work:
Teams update their own OKRs
Parent progress recalculates instantly
Everyone sees real-time, accurate progress
No manual aggregation needed, no calculation errors
Plus flexibility when you need it:
Parent OKR owners can override automatic calculations
Apply human judgment when numbers don't tell the whole story
Switch between automatic and manual anytime
Both calculated and manual values remain visible for transparency
Important Notes
⚠️ Postponed items never contribute to rollup, even if set to contribute
⚠️ Status updates (On Track, Behind, At Risk) require manual check-ins – automatic status rollup coming soon
⚠️ Multiple parents allowed only if enabled in model configuration and progress of all parents will be updated
⚠️ Changes take effect immediately when you modify contribution settings
⚠️ Manual overrides are transparent – Both calculated and manual values are visible when a parent uses manual updates
Troubleshooting
Problem | Cause | Solution |
Parent shows 0% progress | Children not set to contribute | Enable "Contribute to parent" in child items |
"Rolling up from 0 of X" | No contributing children | Set relevant children to contribute |
Can't create alignment | Model configuration restriction | Contact OKR Admin |
KRs not rolling up | Different metric types | Ensure identical metric names and types |
Lead indicators affecting results | Incorrect contribution settings | Disable contribution for predictive metrics |
Status not updating | Manual update required | Update status through check-in process |
Best Practices
✅ DO:
Let the system do the math—use automatic rollup as your default
Override only when you have context the numbers can't capture
Document your reasoning when using manual override
Separate lead indicators (non-contributing) from lag indicators (contributing)
Align all relevant items for visibility
Review both contributing and non-contributing metrics regularly
Use lead indicators as early warning system
Change contribution settings as experiments prove successful
❌ DON'T:
Default to manual calculations when automatic would work
Override without documenting why in check-in notes
Use manual override to hide problems—transparency matters
Let predictive metrics inflate actual results
Enable contribution for experimental work initially
Mix different metric types in KR-to-KR relationships
Ignore non-contributing aligned items
Expect automatic status rollup (coming soon)
💡 Pro tip: The combination of automatic rollup with manual override flexibility gives you the best of both worlds: efficiency and accuracy by default, with human judgment available when needed. A complex organizational OKR with 20+ contributing children would take hours to calculate manually but updates instantly with rollup—and you can still adjust when strategic context demands it.
FAQs
Q: How is automatic rollup different from manual progress tracking?
A: With automatic rollup, you never need to calculate parent progress manually. As soon as any child OKR updates, the parent instantly reflects the change. No spreadsheets, no manual math, no waiting for weekly rollup meetings—just real-time, accurate progress.
Q: How often does rollup calculate?
A: Progress rollup calculates in real-time whenever child values change. The moment someone updates a child OKR, all parent OKRs instantly recalculate.
Q: Should lead indicators contribute to rollup?
A: No. Lead indicators predict future performance and should be aligned but not contributing. Only lag indicators (actual results) should contribute.
Q: Can I change contribution settings mid-cycle?
A: Yes, changes take effect immediately. This is useful for experiments that prove successful.
Q: What happens if I delete a contributing child?
A: Parent progress recalculates automatically excluding the deleted item.
Q: Can an item contribute to multiple parents?
A: Yes, if your OKR Admin has enabled "Allow alignment to multiple parents."
Q: How do percentage-based vs. absolute value KRs roll up?
A: Percentage KRs average their percentages. Absolute value KRs sum their current values (when metrics match).
Q: When should I use manual vs. automatic parent updates?
A: Use automatic rollup as your default—it saves time and ensures accuracy. Switch to manual override when you have important context the numbers don't capture (external dependencies, qualitative factors, strategic adjustments). The flexibility to override gives parent OKR owners the best of both worlds: automatic calculation with human judgment when needed.
Q: Can I switch between automatic and manual updates during the quarter?
A: Yes! You can toggle between automatic and manual at any time. This is useful when temporary situations require manual adjustment, then switching back to automatic once resolved.
💡 Need more help? Contact your OKR Admin or visit our support center.