Jobs to Be Done Framework

Framework for discovering innovation based on a fundamental truth: customers don’t buy products – they “hire” them to do a specific job in their lives.

Fundamental Principle

Job to Be Done = the progress a customer wants to make in specific circumstances.

Key elements of the definition:

• Progress (not goal, not solution) – customer wants to move from current state to a better one
• Circumstances – context determines the job, not customer attributes (demographics are useless)
• Hiring/Firing – customer actively chooses a product for the “job”

Scoring

Goal: 10/10. When reviewing or creating product strategy or positioning, rate it 0-10 based on adherence to the principles below. A 10/10 means full alignment with all guidelines; lower scores indicate gaps to address. Always provide the current score and specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.

Three Dimensions of Every Job

Every job has three inseparable dimensions – omitting any means failure:

Forces of Progress

The decision to “hire” a new product results from four forces:

PRO-change forces:

1. Push – frustration with current situation (“this annoys me”)
2. Pull – attraction of new solution (“I want this”)

ANTI-change forces: 3. Habit – attachment to current (“I’ve always done it this way”) 4. Anxiety – fear of the new (“what if it doesn’t work?”)

Change only happens when: Push + Pull > Habit + Anxiety

Implication: Often it’s more effective to reduce anxiety and habit than to increase push/pull.

Big Hire vs Little Hire

Two decision moments:

Critical: Winning the Big Hire doesn’t guarantee the Little Hire. Many products lose at the Little Hire stage.

Discovering Jobs – Methodology

Passive vs. Active Job Seeking

Passive seeking: Customer is vaguely aware of a problem but not actively shopping. Easier to influence—they haven’t set criteria or budget yet.

Active seeking: Customer is actively comparing solutions. More competitive—they have criteria and may have seen competitors.

Key insight: The best customers are often passive seekers whose jobs you’ve awakened through content and positioning.

See innovation-process.md for detailed job hunting methodology.

Signals Indicating an Undiscovered Job

1. Workarounds – people tinker, hack, combine products
2. Non-consumption – people opt out of entire category
3. Compensating behaviors – “I buy X but then need Y and Z too”
4. Negative emotions – frustration, shame, fear with current solutions

Job Interview – Discovery Questions

Don’t ask directly “what do you need” – customers don’t know. Investigate the purchase timeline:

First thoughts:

• “When did you first think about looking for a solution?”
• “What was happening in your life then?”
• “What was frustrating you?”

Search:

• “What alternatives did you look for?”
• “What eliminated options?”
• “Who did you talk to about this decision?”

Purchase moment:

• “Where were you? What were you doing?”
• “What ultimately convinced you to decide?”
• “What were you afraid of?”

Usage:

• “Is the product doing what you expected?”
• “What surprised you?”
• “What’s still missing?”

Job Statement – Format

When _____________ [circumstances/situation]
I want to ______________ [progress to achieve]  
so I can ________ [outcome/benefit]

Example: “When I’m driving alone to work in the morning and have a boring hour ahead, I want something to keep my hands busy and satisfy my hunger, so I’m not hungry until lunch and have a small pleasure to start my day.”

Competition Through the Jobs Lens

True competition is everything a customer can “hire” for the same job – often from completely different categories.

Examples of non-obvious competition:

• Milkshake competes with: banana, bagel, boredom, podcast
• Netflix competes with: TikTok, sleep, family conversation, games
• Online course competes with: book, YouTube, mentoring, doing nothing

Strategic implication: Analyze competitors through jobs lens, not product categories.

Integration vs Modularization

When job is poorly understood → integrate (control entire experience) When job is well understood → modularize (specialize components)

Rule: Integrate where performance is “not good enough” for the job. Modularize where it’s “good enough.”

Decision criteria for integration:

• Do you need to control the experience end-to-end?
• Is performance on key dimensions “not good enough”?
• Can partners deliver reliably to your standards?

See competitive-strategy.md for strategic positioning.

Building an Organization Around Jobs

Jobs-Oriented Metrics

Instead of measuring:

• Customer satisfaction → Measure: whether the job got done
• NPS → Measure: reasons for hiring and firing
• Feature usage → Measure: progress on the job

Decision Structure

Every product decision should answer: “Will this help the customer better accomplish their job?”

If you can’t answer this question – you don’t understand the job yet.

Quick Product Diagnostics

See: references/diagnostics.md for diagnostic checklist.

Examples and Case Studies

See: references/case-studies.md for detailed analyses (SNHU, American Girl, Intuit).

Additional Reference Files

• innovation-process.md: Job hunting methodology, job atlas, prototype testing, job statements
• competitive-strategy.md: Non-obvious competition, jobs-based positioning, pricing strategy
• organizational-change.md: Overcoming objections, feature-factory trap, executive buy-in, change management

Further Reading

This skill is based on the Jobs to Be Done framework developed by Clayton M. Christensen. For the complete methodology, case studies, and deeper insights, read the original book:

• “Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice” by Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan