[Mastering the Jobs To Be Done Framework]
Unlocking Customer Needs, One Job at a Time
Addressing
Value Theory
Published Date
2023-01-01
Enagagement
12 Min Read
Introduction
In over two decades of working with companies on product design and strategy, I’ve learned that most teams get stuck in the same trap: they think customers buy products. In reality, customers hire products to get jobs done in their lives. The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is not about theory—it’s a practical lens that helps teams cut through assumptions, discover what truly matters to people, and design offerings that fit into the progress customers are seeking. Understanding this shift from product-centered to job-centered thinking can be the difference between incremental improvement and breakthrough innovation.
Why Jobs, Not Products
Think about it: nobody wakes up craving a drill. They want a hole in the wall. In fact, they don’t even want the hole—they want the frame mounted, the room looking better, and perhaps the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing it themselves. The drill is simply a means to achieve that progress. Once you internalize that people 'hire' products and services for specific jobs, you start seeing unmet opportunities everywhere. You stop obsessing over features and competitors, and instead focus on what keeps your customers from making progress.
Core Principles of JTBD
- Customers don’t buy products; they hire them to achieve progress.
- A job is stable over time, even as solutions change.
- Jobs are always about context: situation + motivation + desired outcome.
- Good solutions reduce friction, anxieties, and obstacles in completing the job.
- Understanding jobs requires real conversations, not surveys or analytics alone.
Practical Example
Years ago, I worked with a food company struggling with declining sales of milkshakes. They kept tweaking flavors and sizes but nothing moved the needle. By interviewing customers, they discovered something surprising: in the morning, commuters 'hired' milkshakes as a tidy, filling, one-handed breakfast they could consume in the car. Competing products were not other milkshakes—they were bananas, bagels, or even boredom. That insight led the company to redesign the product for morning convenience, and sales grew sharply. That’s JTBD in action: uncovering the real progress customers were trying to make.
Key Steps in Applying JTBD
- Identify the core job to be done. Example: 'Quench thirst during workouts' vs 'Drink sports beverages'.
- Break down the job into functional, emotional, and social dimensions.
- Map the current journey: what pushes customers toward change, what pulls them to a new solution, what anxieties hold them back, and what habits anchor them.
- Uncover unmet needs: where do customers struggle or settle for poor substitutes?
- Prioritize outcomes: focus resources on the pain points with greatest impact.
People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.
Digging Into Functional, Emotional, and Social Jobs
One mistake teams make is to only think functionally. Yes, a washing machine cleans clothes, but that’s only part of the story. There’s an emotional job—'feel like a caring parent who provides clean clothes for the family'—and a social job—'avoid embarrassment from dirty clothes in public.' Great innovations address all three layers. Apple’s iPhone didn’t just enable calls and internet browsing; it also gave people status and identity as someone at the cutting edge. Ignoring emotional and social layers blinds you to the real levers of loyalty.
Push, Pull, Anxieties, and Habits
Clay Christensen and Bob Moesta often explained adoption as a battle of forces. Customers are pushed toward change by frustrations with the current solution. They are pulled toward a new idea by its appeal. But anxieties about the new option and habits of the old one can freeze them in place. For instance, many people resist switching banks not because their current one is great, but because the hassle and uncertainty of moving outweigh the pull of alternatives. When designing, you must systematically reduce anxieties and ease the transition from old habits.
Common Mistakes in JTBD
- Confusing product features with jobs.
- Assuming demographics explain motivations (age, income are poor predictors).
- Writing vague job statements like 'improve quality of life' instead of specific, actionable jobs.
- Collecting surface-level feedback without probing into context and emotion.
- Failing to translate job insights into concrete design and business decisions.
A JTBD Case Study
In one project, a software company couldn’t understand why their collaboration tool wasn’t spreading inside organizations, despite great reviews. Interviews revealed that managers 'hired' the tool to appear in control of projects, while employees 'hired' it to reduce status meetings. These jobs conflicted. The design unintentionally made managers feel less visible, so they resisted adoption. By adding dashboards that gave managers reassurance, adoption skyrocketed. The takeaway: different actors in the same system may hire a product for conflicting jobs, and success requires addressing both.
Jobs To Be Done helps you stop guessing and start seeing the world through the customer’s eyes.
How JTBD Shapes Strategy
JTBD is not just for product design—it’s also a strategic tool. When you know the job your company is hired for, you see adjacencies and threats clearly. Netflix started with DVD rentals but understood the job was 'entertain me conveniently at home.' That insight guided their pivot to streaming, and later, original content. Had they clung to DVDs, they would have died. By anchoring to the underlying job, they future-proofed their business.
Actionable Takeaways
- Interview recent switchers to understand what triggered the move.
- Look beyond what customers say to what they actually struggle with.
- Frame outcomes in measurable terms, not vague desires.
- Design onboarding to remove anxieties and ease habit shifts.
- Continuously revisit jobs, as context and competitors change.
Final Reflection
The biggest lesson from JTBD is humility. You may think you know your product, but your customers define its purpose by how they use it. Your task is to listen, observe, and align your design and strategy with the real jobs out there. Done well, JTBD uncovers opportunities no market survey could reveal, because it captures the truth of lived experience. In the end, it reminds us that innovation is not about pushing technology—it’s about helping people make progress in their lives.