The Jobs to Be Done Playbook

To be consistent in describing goals, follow this simple pattern for writing job statements.

Instead of focusing on your own solution, you must first understand what people want and why that’s important to them. Accordingly, JTBD deliberately avoids mention of particular solutions in order to first comprehend the process that people go through

You can illustrate the main job in a chronological map with a sequence of stages. Consider each stage as a smaller job within the main job rather than tasks or physical activities. Because the job has to be “done,” be sure to formulate the job in a way that has an end state. It’s then helpful to think of the job as having a beginning, middle, and e

Frame questions around each of the forces. • Problem (push): What do you struggle with at your current job? What’s less than ideal? • Attraction (pull): What excites you about the new role or company? How do you imagine your life improving? • Uncertainty (anxieties): What concerns do you have about the new role or company? • Habit (familiarity): Is

There are three key steps in scoping the JTBD domain: defining the main job, defining the job performer, and making a hypothesis about the process and circumstances.

the map reveals the process of completing the job from the executor’s point of view, not the buyer or customer perspective.

The main job is the overall aim of the job performer. Determining the main job defines your overall playing field and sets your scope of innovation. You should express the main job in functional terms, such as a utilitarian goal. It’s an act that will be performed and should have a clear end state—the “done” part of jobs to be done.

An alternative technique to discovering jobs is Switch interviewing. This technique was developed by Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek, who were focused on re-creating a timeline around a recent purchase. But Switch interviews are not about product preference or satisfaction: they are focused on buying decisions and underlying motivations to seek progress

In ODI, “needs” are synonymous with “desired outcomes.” The formulation of desired outcome statements is specific and precise.1 There are four elements in each statement: • Direction of change: How does the job performer want to improve conditions? Each desired outcome statement starts with a verb showing the desired change of improvement. Words li