Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) – Customer-Centric Product Strategy
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Category: Digital Product Strategy & Management
The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework helps organisations understand why customers choose, use, switch or stop using products and services. It focuses on the progress customers want to make in a particular situation rather than simply their demographics or product preferences.
1. Core Principles
JTBD is based on the idea that customers choose products or services to accomplish a specific job in a particular situation.
Key principles:
Focus on the job, not the product: Understand what customers are trying to achieve rather than focusing only on existing features.
Understand the situation: The same customer may have different needs in different circumstances.
Focus on progress: Customers seek solutions that help them move from their current situation to a desired outcome.
Consider alternatives: Customers may use competing products, existing solutions or workarounds to accomplish the same job.
Understand the complete experience: The job includes the motivation to choose, the process of using a solution and the outcome achieved.
2. Three Dimensions of Customer Jobs
Customer jobs can be understood through three dimensions.
Functional Jobs
The practical task a customer wants to accomplish.
Example: Finding and watching entertainment content.
Emotional Jobs
How customers want to feel while accomplishing the job.
Example: Feeling relaxed, entertained or confident.
Social Jobs
How customers want to be perceived by others.
Example: Being seen as knowledgeable or having good taste.
These dimensions often overlap and influence customer decisions.
3. JTBD Statement
A JTBD statement describes the customer's situation, motivation and desired outcome.
Common structure:
When [situation], I want to [motivation or action], so I can [desired outcome].
Example:
When I have limited free time, I want to quickly find something enjoyable to watch, so I can relax without spending too much time searching.
A good JTBD statement should describe the customer’s underlying need rather than prescribe a particular product or feature.
JTBD vs User Stories
JTBD: Explains why customers need a solution and the progress they want to make.
User Story: Describes a specific capability from the user's perspective.
JTBD helps identify the underlying need, while user stories help translate product requirements into development activities.
4. Four Forces of Progress
The Four Forces of Progress explain why customers switch from an existing solution to a new one.
Push – Dissatisfaction with the Current Situation
Problems, limitations or frustrations that motivate customers to seek change.
Pull – Attraction of the New Solution
The perceived benefits and advantages of an alternative solution.
Anxiety – Uncertainty About Switching
Concerns, risks or doubts about adopting a new solution.
Habit – Existing Behaviour
Comfort, familiarity and routines that keep customers using their current solution.
Successful product adoption requires understanding all four forces, strengthening the reasons to switch and reducing barriers to change.
5. JTBD Research and Switch Interviews
JTBD research helps uncover customer motivations, circumstances, decision-making behaviour and desired outcomes.
Customer Interviews
Explore the customer's needs, challenges, motivations and experiences.
Switch Interviews
Understand the events and decisions that led a customer to change from one solution to another.
A switch interview commonly explores five stages:
First Thought: When the customer first considered making a change.
Passive Looking: When the customer started noticing alternatives.
Active Looking: When the customer actively evaluated solutions.
Decision: What influenced the final choice.
Consumption: The experience after adopting the new solution.
Useful Research Questions
What triggered the customer to look for a solution?
What problems were they experiencing?
What alternatives did they consider?
What made them choose one solution over another?
What concerns or barriers influenced the decision?
What outcome did they expect?
Did the chosen solution deliver the expected result?
Research should focus on actual customer behaviour and past decisions rather than relying only on hypothetical preferences.
6. Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI)
Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI), developed by Anthony Ulwick, is a methodology that builds on the Jobs To Be Done concept.
It focuses on identifying, measuring and prioritising the outcomes customers want to achieve.
Key Elements
Identify customer desired outcomes.
Measure the importance of each outcome.
Measure customer satisfaction with existing solutions.
Identify underserved outcomes.
Prioritise opportunities for innovation.
Opportunity Score
A commonly used ODI opportunity score is:
Opportunity Score = Importance + max (Importance − Satisfaction, 0)
Higher scores indicate outcomes that may represent stronger opportunities for innovation.
JTBD vs ODI
JTBD: Helps understand the job customers are trying to accomplish.
ODI: Measures desired outcomes and identifies opportunities to improve how the job is performed.
JTBD provides the understanding of customer needs, while ODI provides a structured approach to evaluating innovation opportunities.
7. JTBD in Digital Product Management
JTBD helps product teams make decisions based on customer needs and desired outcomes.
Product Discovery
Identify customer problems, motivations and unmet needs before defining solutions.
Feature Prioritisation
Evaluate features based on how effectively they help customers accomplish their jobs.
Product Design
Design simpler and more relevant experiences around customer tasks and desired outcomes.
Product Innovation
Identify opportunities beyond existing features and competing product categories.
JTBD can also complement other prioritisation methods. For example, JTBD identifies customer needs, ODI evaluates underserved outcomes, and RICE helps prioritise delivery initiatives.
8. JTBD in Marketing and E-commerce
JTBD helps marketing teams understand the motivations behind customer decisions and create more relevant communication.
Segmentation and Targeting
Group customers based on the jobs they want to accomplish rather than relying only on demographic characteristics.
Positioning and Messaging
Communicate how a product helps customers achieve their desired outcomes.
Content Marketing and SEO
Develop content around customer problems, search intent and the information customers need to make decisions.
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)
Identify barriers in the customer journey and improve the experience around important customer tasks.
Personalisation and Marketing Automation
Deliver relevant messages and experiences based on customer needs, situations and behaviour.
Feature-Based vs JTBD-Based Messaging
Feature-based: Highlights what a product offers.
JTBD-based: Explains how the product helps customers achieve a specific outcome.
JTBD-based messaging connects product benefits to the customer's underlying motivation.
9. Practical Case Study: Streaming Subscription
Consider a customer who is dissatisfied with an existing streaming service and starts looking for an alternative.
Underlying Job
Find convenient and enjoyable entertainment during available free time.
Customer Dimensions
Functional: Find and watch suitable content.
Emotional: Feel relaxed and entertained.
Social: Have content to share or discuss with others.
Four Forces
Push: Dissatisfaction with content availability or the viewing experience.
Pull: Better content discovery and a more convenient experience.
Anxiety: Concerns about subscription cost, content availability or switching.
Habit: Familiarity with the existing service.
Potential Product Opportunities
Improve content discovery and recommendations.
Simplify subscription and payment journeys.
Provide a consistent viewing experience across devices.
Make relevant content easier to access.
Desired Outcome
Help customers find and enjoy relevant entertainment with less effort.
This example demonstrates how understanding the underlying job can reveal opportunities beyond simply adding more features.
10. Measuring JTBD Success
JTBD success should be measured by how effectively customers accomplish their desired jobs.
Customer Outcomes
Task completion rate.
Time required to achieve the desired outcome.
Reduction in customer effort.
Success in accomplishing key tasks.
Product Performance
Product discovery and activation.
Feature adoption.
Engagement and usage.
Customer retention.
Business Performance
Conversion rate.
Subscription or purchase growth.
Revenue and customer lifetime value.
Churn and retention rates.
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) can provide additional insight into the overall customer experience.
Metrics should be selected according to the specific job and desired outcome being measured.
11. Key Takeaways
JTBD focuses on the progress customers want to make in a specific situation.
Customer jobs have functional, emotional and social dimensions.
The JTBD statement connects a situation, motivation and desired outcome.
The Four Forces explain the factors influencing customer switching behaviour.
JTBD research uncovers customer motivations and decision-making processes.
ODI helps identify and prioritise underserved customer outcomes.
JTBD supports product strategy, innovation, marketing and customer experience improvements.
Final Thought
Successful products are not built only around features. They are built around understanding the jobs customers need to accomplish and helping them achieve better outcomes.
12. Similar and Related Frameworks
Customer Personas: Represent key customer segments and characteristics.
Empathy Mapping: Understand customer thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
STP Framework: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning.
Value Proposition Canvas: Align product offerings with customer needs.
Customer Journey Mapping: Understand customer interactions across touchpoints.
Design Thinking: Solve problems through customer-centred design.
Kano Model: Prioritise product features based on customer satisfaction.
RICE Framework: Prioritise product initiatives using Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort.
Lean Startup: Validate product ideas through experimentation.
Product-Market Fit: Evaluate how well a product meets market demand.
Key Contributors
Clayton Christensen: Popularised the Jobs To Be Done concept through his work on innovation and disruption.
Bob Moesta: Developed practical JTBD research and switching interview approaches.
Anthony Ulwick: Developed Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI).
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