Jobs to be Done Framework
Understand what progress your customers are trying to make in their lives - and design products that help them get the job done
The Core Insight
"People don't want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole."
Actually, they want to hang a picture to make their house feel like home.
What is a "Job"?
A Job is the progress that a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance. Jobs are about intent, not demographics. They're about what customers are trying to achieve, not what they are doing.
Functional
The practical task to accomplish
Emotional
How they want to feel
Social
How they want to be perceived
The Jobs to be Done Process
Identify the Job
Look for struggles and workarounds. What are people trying to accomplish? Focus on the progress they want to make, not the product they're using.
Questions to Ask
- • What progress are you trying to make?
- • What are you hiring this product to do?
- • What did you fire to hire this?
- • What's the struggle that led you here?
Map the Job Journey
Understand the entire journey from first thought to satisfaction. When does the job arise? What triggers it? How is success measured?
The Timeline
Understand the Forces
Four forces shape whether someone will switch to your solution. Understand and design for all four.
Forces for Change ➡️
Push of the situation
Current pain points
Pull of new solution
Attraction to your product
⬅️ Forces Against Change
Habit of the present
Comfort with status quo
Anxiety of new solution
Fear of change
Design for the Job
Create experiences that perfectly match the job. Remove friction from hiring your product and achieving the desired progress.
Design Principles
- • Optimize for the whole job, not just functionality
- • Address emotional and social dimensions
- • Remove anxiety through guarantees and trials
- • Make switching costs low
- • Communicate progress, not features
Jobs to be Done Interview Techniques
Focus on the Purchase Story
Interview people who recently bought your product (or a competitor's). The purchase story reveals the job better than any survey.
- • "When did you first start looking for something like this?"
- • "What happened that day that made you think about it?"
- • "Tell me about how you looked for a solution."
- • "What else did you consider?"
- • "What was the moment you decided to buy?"
Look for Struggling Moments
The struggle is where innovation happens. Find where people cobble together solutions or go without.
- • Workarounds and hacks
- • Multiple products used together
- • Complaints that start with "I wish..."
- • Non-consumption (going without)
Real-World Jobs Examples
Milkshake Marketing
The Job: "Help me stay engaged during my boring morning commute"
Not about the milkshake's taste or nutrition - it's about having something to do with your hands and making the commute more interesting. Competitors aren't other milkshakes - they're bagels, bananas, and podcasts.
Airbnb
The Job: "Help me feel like a local when I travel"
Not competing on hotel features like room service or loyalty points. Competing on belonging, authenticity, and unique experiences. The job includes both functional (place to sleep) and emotional (feel connected) dimensions.
Slack
The Job: "Help me feel connected to my team without drowning in email"
The job isn't "team chat" - it's about feeling in the loop, reducing email anxiety, and making work feel more human. Success is measured by team cohesion, not message count.
JTBD Core Principles
- •Competition is defined by the job: Your competition isn't who you think it is - it's whatever else could get the job done
- •Jobs are stable over time: Technologies change, but jobs remain remarkably consistent
- •Context creates the job: The circumstance is more predictive than customer characteristics
- •Progress, not products: Customers want to make progress in their lives, your product is just a means
- •Pull, don't push: Create pull by perfectly matching the job rather than pushing features
Ready to Discover Your Customer's Jobs?
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