Jobs To Be Done

---
name: jobs-to-be-done
description: Understand customer motivations by uncovering the job they hire your product to do, not demographics or features they request
---

# Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)

## Overview
Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done framework states: People don't buy products, they hire them to make progress in their lives. Focus on the **job** (goal/outcome), not customer demographics or product features. Classic example: "People don't want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole."

## Core Insight
Customers "hire" products to get a job done. Understand the job to build better solutions and identify non-obvious competitors.

**Example**: Commuters hire podcasts to "make commute productive." Competitor isn't just other podcasts—it's audiobooks, music, phone calls (all do similar job).

## JTBD Statement Format
**When** [situation], **I want to** [motivation], **So I can** [expected outcome]

**Example**: When I'm traveling for work, I want to quickly find healthy food options, so I can maintain energy without wasting time.

## Process

### Step 1: Identify the Job
Interview customers about moments they decided to buy/use your product. Focus on the circumstance, not the person.

**Question**: "Walk me through the day you decided to buy this product. What were you trying to accomplish?"

### Step 2: Map the Job Statement
Extract: Situation (when), Motivation (want to), Outcome (so I can).

**Example**: Milkshake study: Parents "hired" milkshakes to "keep kids occupied on long morning commute so they could drive peacefully."

### Step 3: Identify Competing Jobs
Who else do customers "hire" for the same job? Includes non-obvious competitors.

**Example**: Gym membership job: "Feel healthy and confident." Competitors: Fitness apps, diet plans, athleisure clothing (all address same job).

### Step 4: Optimize for the Job
Redesign product to better fulfill the job, not just add features.

**Example**: McDonald's milkshakes: Made thicker (lasted longer commute), easier to buy (drive-thru optimization), added fruit chunks (guilt-reduction for breakfast).

## Example Application

**Company**: Note-taking app struggling with retention

**Research**: Interview users: "When do you use our app?"

**Jobs discovered**:
1. "When I'm in a meeting, I want to capture action items, so I can follow up later"
2. "When reading articles, I want to save insights, so I can reference them when writing"
3. "When feeling overwhelmed, I want to brain dump, so I can organize thoughts"

**Insight**: Three distinct jobs. Current product optimized for none specifically.

**Decision**: Split into three products or prioritize one job. Choose job #1 (meeting notes), optimize for that.

**Outcome**: Add meeting templates, integrations with calendar, automatic action item extraction. Retention for "meeting notes" job increases 2x.

## When to Use
- Discovering why customers really use your product
- Identifying non-obvious competitors
- Prioritizing feature development
- Entering new markets (understand the job, not demographics)

## Anti-Patterns
- ❌ Focusing on demographics ("millennials want...") vs. jobs
- ❌ Asking "What features do you want?" (users describe solutions, not jobs)
- ❌ Treating all use cases as one job (different jobs need different products)
- ❌ Confusing job with task ("I want to click this button" is not a job)

## Success Metrics
- **Job Completion Rate**: % of customers who successfully accomplish the job
- **Time to Job Completion**: Speed from trigger to desired outcome
- **Switching Rate**: How often customers "fire" alternatives for your product
- **Job Satisfaction Score**: How well product delivers on functional + emotional + social dimensions

## Integration with Other Frameworks
**Combines with**:
- Opportunity Solution Trees: Map solutions to job dimensions
- Continuous Discovery Habits: Weekly interviews to uncover jobs
- The Mom Test: Questions that reveal actual jobs, not opinions
- Kano Model: Distinguish must-have job requirements from delighters

**Complements**:
- Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI): Tactical implementation method
- Value Proposition Canvas: Map jobs to solutions visually
- User Story Mapping: Structure backlog around job completion

## Common Pitfalls

### Confusing Tasks with Jobs
**Task**: "I need to share this file"
**Job**: "When collaborating remotely, I want to coordinate on documents, so we can make decisions without meetings"

### Stopping at Functional Jobs
Don't ignore emotional and social dimensions. A gym isn't just hired to "exercise" (functional), but also to "feel accomplished" (emotional) and "be seen as health-conscious" (social).

### Treating All Customers as One Job
Different circumstances = different jobs. A person might hire your product for different jobs in different contexts. Don't try to serve all jobs with one solution.

## References
- "Competing Against Luck" - Clayton Christensen
- "When Coffee and Kale Compete" - Alan Klement
- Christensen Institute JTBD resources
- StrategyN Outcome-Driven Innovation (Tony Ulwick)
- The Re-Wired Group (Bob Moesta switch interviews)

## Related
- continuous-discovery-habits
- opportunity-solution-trees
- mom-test
- user-research-methodologies
- product-strategy
- customer-development
- kano-model
- value-proposition