Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)
Reframe customer needs as the job they're hiring your product to do.
Attributed to Tony Ulwick (credited alongside Clayton Christensen and Theodore Levitt for foundational concepts).
What it is
The Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework provides a structured approach for defining, categorizing, capturing, and organizing customer needs, making innovation more predictable. It suggests that customers purchase products and services to accomplish a 'job' rather than for the product itself. For instance, customers don't want a drill; they want a hole.
JTBD focuses on three types of external customers: the job executor (the person using the product for the core functional job), the product lifecycle support team (those who install, maintain, or dispose of the product), and the buyer (the financial decision-maker). Each customer type has distinct needs.
The framework also identifies five types of jobs customers are trying to get done: the core functional job (the main task), related jobs (additional tasks before, during, or after the core job), emotional jobs (how the customer wants to feel or be perceived), consumption chain jobs (tasks related to the product's life cycle), and the purchase decision job (the financial and performance metrics used to make a buying choice).
To deeply understand a customer's job, the core functional job can be broken down into steps using a 'job map.' For each step, companies can identify 'desired outcomes,' which are metrics customers use to measure success. These desired outcomes are solution-agnostic, stable, measurable, controllable, and essential for prioritizing innovation efforts.
When to use it
- When launching new products or services.
- When seeking to understand true customer motivations beyond surface-level desires.
- When aiming to improve existing products or services for better market fit.
- When defining market opportunities and identifying unmet customer needs.
- When aligning internal teams (R&D, marketing, strategy) around a common understanding of customer value.
- When conducting market research to uncover deep customer insights.
- When struggling with product-market fit or high rates of product failure.
How to use it
- 1
Identify the customer types.
- 2
Define the core functional job.
- 3
Map the job.
- 4
Uncover related jobs.
- 5
Explore emotional jobs.
- 6
Consider consumption chain jobs.
- 7
Determine purchase decision jobs.
- 8
Identify desired outcomes.
Key concepts
Job-to-be-Done (JTBD)
The fundamental task, problem, or goal a customer is trying to accomplish or solve, for which they 'hire' a product or service.
Core Functional Job
The central process or task the job executor is trying to get done in a given situation. It defines the market and is the reason for its existence.
Desired Outcomes
Metrics customers use to measure success when trying to get a job done. They are solution-agnostic, stable, measurable, and critical for predictable innovation.
Job Executor
The individual who directly uses a product or service to perform the core functional job.
Product Lifecycle Support Team
Groups of people involved in supporting a product throughout its lifecycle, including installation, maintenance, repair, and disposal.
Buyer
The individual or group responsible for making the financial decision to purchase a product or service.
Job Map
A detailed sequence of steps that breaks down a core functional job, used to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation.
Common pitfalls
- Focusing only on the product features rather than the underlying customer job.
- Confusing solutions with jobs-to-be-done.
- Failing to identify all relevant customer types and their distinct needs.
- Neglecting to consider emotional and social aspects of the job.
- Not breaking down the core job into sufficient detail (job mapping).
- Failing to discover and prioritize desired outcomes, leading to less predictable innovation.
- Assuming customer needs are static and not considering changes over time.
Further reading
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