When analyst relations (AR) planners design their AR programs and document them in a plan, they must decide which planning method to use — whether they choose to be ad hoc, use a combination of formal planning methods, or apply a single formal method rigorously. This report, the first in a trilogy that provides AR managers with the knowledge they need when contemplating use of the objectives and key results (OKR) method in part or in full, explains what OKRs comprise in theory and how implementations of them vary in practice.