Jobs-to-be-Done Theory is integral to successful product planning — the ability to conceptualize a product or service that will win in the marketplace BEFORE it is approved for development/design. Applied correctly, it results in predictable innovation, as products and services are certain to address unmet customer needs.

Jobs-to-be-Done Interviews solve the puzzle of understanding customer needs

Before a company can determine which needs are unmet, it must first uncover all the customers’ needs. Most companies struggle in this effort and in many cases company managers can’t even agree on what a “need” is. Fortunately, customer needs can be effectively defined and successfully captured through qualitative Jobs-to-be-Done interviews.

Jobs-to-be-Done interviews have a specific goal — to gain a deep understanding of the job the customer is trying to get done. Consequently, when conducting these interviews, the focus should not be on the buying process, the day of purchase, customer behavior or the product. Instead, the focus should be solely on understanding the core functional job the customer is trying to get done.

I’m a practitioner of Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI), a methodology that predates JTBD Theory, and was integral in the development of the theory’s core tenets. The research methods included in the ODI process enable a researcher to gain a deep understanding of the customer’s job-to-be-done because they seek to uncover the metrics that customers use to measure success (or dare I say “progress”) when trying to get a job done. These uniquely defined needs are called customer desired outcomes.

Desired outcomes are the building blocks of predictable innovation

Understanding the job-to-be-done at a deep level is like assembling the pieces of a puzzle. When all the pieces come together, you have a complete and granular understanding of the customer’s job-to-be-done. As is the case when assembling a puzzle, there is a most efficient way to gain a deep understanding of a job-to-be-done.

When assembling a puzzle, it is best to start with the frame/borders. With the frame in place you know where you are bounded. You know the playing field and you know that all the pieces are going to fit somewhere inside the frame. Next, you group together pieces that contain similar colors/patterns as you know they are going to be closely related and fit together. Lastly, you fill in all the remaining pieces.

Jobs-to-be-Done interviews solve the customer needs puzzle in three simple steps

The way we study a job-to-be-done for our clients can be described in three steps.

We first define the market we are studying as a group of people and the job they are trying to get done (create the frame).
Next, we create a job map (group together like pieces). The job map breaks down the core job into the steps that comprise the core job.
Lastly, we uncover the customer’s outcomes (needs) for each step in the job (fill in all the pieces).

This article explains all three steps in detail.

Note: if a client wants to discover and/or enter brand new markets, then we begin the process with a market discovery and selection phase. This is not covered in this article.

Identify the Job Executor

Companies have many customers and stakeholders. Unlike the B2C world, where things seem more clear cut, creating solutions for companies can be daunting. With all of the influencers, decision-makers, buying groups, end users, operators, installers and others, who do you interview?

Using ODI, JTBD interviews focus on three types of customers: