The concept of jobs to be done provides a lens to understand value creation. The framework looks at customer motivations in business settings.
In principles, it’s straightforward: people “hire” products to fulfill a need. For instance, you might hire a new suit to make you look good at a job interview. Or, you hire Facebook to stay in touch with friends. You could also hire a chocolate bar to relieve stress.
Viewing customers in this way – as goal-driven actors in a given context – shifts focus from the psycho-demographic aspects to needs and motivations. It’s not about the user, but about usage.
Understanding the jobs to be done perspective provides opportunities for designers. Not only can we design better solutions, we can also contribute to broader strategic conversations.
5. Encyclopedias Wikipedia
Book stores Amazon
CDs MP3
Film photography
Digital
photography
Premium airlines Budget airlines
Rental cars Car sharing
Telephone VOIP
13. DIMENSIONS: “HIRING“ A KEYLESS LOCK
• FUNCTIONAL -
Control access to my
home
• EMOTIONAL - Feel
secure and safe
• SOCIAL - Let visitors
in, keep strangers out
14. • SITUATION – Private home-
owners need to let people in and
out when they are at work during
the day
• MOTIVATION – Solve the
problem of selective access and
of scheduling visit
• DESIRED OUTCOMES
- Maximize options for entry/exit
- Reduce chance of intruders
- Increase sense of security
CIRCUMSTANCES: “HIRING“ A KEYLESS LOCK
15. Maximize my ability to allow visitors in during the
day
Minimize
Reduce
Lower
Maximize
Increase
Raise
Time
Ability
Effort
Chances
Likelihood
DIRECTION UNIT QUALIFIER
DESIRED OUTCOMES
16. 1. Maximize the ability to allow visitors in during
the day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very low Very high
A. How important is this to you?
B. How well is this currently being satisfied?
DESIRED OUTCOMES SURVEY
2. Reduce the chance of intruders getting in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very low Very high
22. „Indi Young, Mental Models. Rosenfeld Media, 2008.
Mental models give a deep
understanding of people’s motivations
and thought-processes, along with the
emotional and philosophical landscape
in which they are operating.
MENTAL MODELS
23.
24. #2 – DESIGN FOR THE MARKET
Job Stories
Alan Klement, “Replacing The User Story With The Job Story”
26. #3 – SPEAK TO THE MARKET
Shift language to reflect JTBD
BEFORE
Our conference software features high-
definition video with the best resolution
AFTER
Connect with remote colleagues on a more
personal level with true-to-life video
28. #4 – (RE)DEFINE MARKETS
“The greatest competitor [in tax
software] … was not in the
industry. It was the pencil. The
pencil is a tough and resilient
substitute. Yet the entire
industry had overlooked it.”
SCOTT COOK, Founder of Intuit
29. #4 – (RE)DEFINE MARKETS
“Customers struggle when
they try to make their life
better but don’t know how.
We call this struggle a Job
to be Done.”
30. JTBD offers a practical ‘lens’ to
view various aspects our your
organization and shift the view
from inside-out to outside-in3
31. Surviving disruption requires a focus on
JTBDs, something relevant to designers
when applied in practical ways
1
2
3
32. “People don’t want a
quarter-inch drill,
they want a quarter-
inch hole.”
THEODORE LEVITT