
Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) is a consumer demand theory that explores the motivations behind individuals’ decisions to adopt new goods and services. The JTBD hypothesis posits that consumers seek out and purchase products to improve their lives and achieve their goals. Often referred to as the “jobs theory,” it suggests that customers do not merely buy products; instead, they “hire” resources to perform specific tasks, such as solving problems or fulfilling needs.
For example, consider a fitness application that offers functionalities like exercise tracking or monitoring heart rate variations over time. From this perspective, customers desire a product that facilitates these activities, ultimately helping them achieve better fitness. The jobs-to-be-done theory is fundamentally centered on the customer’s context, regardless of their psychographic or demographic characteristics, such as age, education level, or moral framework.
Mostly, product managers use this JTBD strategy to reduce the risk of putting out products that people won’t buy. Using this strategy, a product team tries to figure out what people really want to get out of buying a product or service. The end goal is to make the user experience better and give consumers more value.
Jobs To Be Done Questions Template

6 Reasons Why Jobs To Be Done is Important
There are various ways your business might profit from the JTBD framework:
- Identify the genuine desires and requirements of your consumers. What is their goal or the intended result in a particular circumstance?
- Create solutions that satisfy wants and needs.
- Create unforgettable customer experiences.
- Estimate how the market will react to your innovation.
- Content and language in marketing that is accurate and relates to the satisfaction of clients’ wants and desires
- To direct your business decisions, create a business plan that is modeled around JTBD and is focused on consumers’ wants and aspirations.
Jobs To Be Done Template Excel & Google Sheets


Jobs To Be Done Framework Product Management
The jobs-to-be-done framework is often used by product managers and owners throughout the product development process. This framework consists of eight components, which are given below.

1. Determine the Tasks That Customers are Attempting to Complete
You need to look at your clients and figure out what they’re trying to do, especially when current procedures and technology don’t give them enough answers. Which jobs involve ad hoc or inadequate alternatives?
2. Classify the Jobs to Be Done
The “job” has a number of “requirements” that are not just functional but also social and emotional. This shows that the situation and context matter.
JTBDs come in two main varieties:
- Primary Jobs to Be Done: It outlines the goal that clients desire to accomplish.
- Related jobs to Be Done: It describes what clients desire to complete, along with the primary tasks to be completed.
The following JTBD subtypes are included in each of these two categories:
- Functional Job Aspects —The realistic and objective needs of the consumer.
- Emotional Job Aspects — The emotionally driven requirements of the customer.
The following categories further divide emotional work aspects:
- Personal Dimension — How satisfied the client is with the solution.
- Social Dimension — How the client feels other people see them when they use the product.
3. Identify Competitors
You need to explain a few things, like what your product is used for, why it was stopped, and why the client switched to a different solution. Knowing which items are in a customer’s consideration set for a job provides insight into which products they see as competitors for that job.

4. Define Job Statements
The most important parts of a job statement are an action verb, the thing that the action is done to, and a clear explanation of the situation in which the job is done.
Action + object + context
The following is the job statement template.
5. Set priorities for the JTBD opportunities
There are dozens of tasks that clients need to be completed in any industry. Which of them provides you with the most opportunities?
You can use the Likert scale to find out how important a task is to a client and how happy they are with a proposed solution or service.
Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Undecided | Agree | Strongly Agree |
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
6. Describe the Expected Results of JTBD
Any job has an expected result, which is made up of general pros and cons that have nothing to do with specific traits or performance indicators. An example of a disadvantage of “maintaining a spotless automobile” would be that it “needs continual maintenance.”
There are four distinct categories of expected outcomes:
- Undesired results that clients want to ignore
- Desired results that clients want to accomplish
- Undesired results that service providers want to ignore
- Desired results that service providers want to accomplish.
7. Write Expected Outcome Statements
Jobs have desired result statements that specify how clients evaluate value. Outcome statements purposefully leave out precise answers in favor of everlasting motivators. Observational research and interviews are used to compile the intended outcome statements’ content.
While the results of qualitative research are often only useful for a short time, expected outcome statements give designers and organizations long-lasting information about what customers value most.
Language-wise, expected outcome statements are clear and follow a certain syntax:
Improvement + Measure + Object of Control
For Instance:
Improvements | Measure | Object of Control |
Reduce | boredom | While commuting, |
8. Innovate with purpose
Clayton Christenson remarked, “On a basic level, people’s life goals do not change rapidly.” This idea is the foundation of the Jobs to Be Done structure. Companies and designers should try to make products that offer more and more value, but products should also be updated regularly.
People eventually use solutions rather than purchasing products. Products come and go, but the desires that fuel purchasing remain constant.
Jobs To Be Done PowerPoint





Pros and Cons of Jobs To Be Done
- It may assist you in more closely matching what you’re creating to what your customers really desire.
- It makes it possible for the development team and project manager to comprehend what the customer genuinely wants.
- It allows the product manager and development team to draw conclusions outside of the realm of direct client feedback.
- It aids in bridging this gap and interpreting customer demands beyond their fundamental requirements or desires.
- It may cause your user documentation to become extremely high-level and complex.
- It may result in poor user experience and design, according to certain product teams.
- It may detract from important design considerations such as the product’s usability or aesthetics.
Jobs To Be Done Online Tools








Jobs to be done is a fairly new philosophy or way of doing business that doesn’t ask about the qualities of clients but rather about the tasks (jobs) they want to get done.
This results in a fresh viewpoint about the product, the user, and the competition. In real life, the strategy can be put into action by combining it with standard methods, such as design thinking.
Jobs To Be Done FAQs
What are examples of Jobs to Be Done?
– Get my garments clean and new: “Hire” Washing detergent to produce the desired outcome.
– Feed me: “Hire” healthy food, vitamins, and supplements.
– Find my files quickly: “Hire” a digital application for taking notes and storing files.
What are the three main types of Jobs to Be Done?
According to the Jobs Theory, there are three different kinds of tasks that your client is attempting to complete: functional, emotional, and consumption.
What does the Job-to-Be-Done JTBD identify?
Jobs-to-be-done is best described as a point of view—a lens through which you can see markets, clients, requirements, customer segments, and competitors in new ways, making innovation far more predictable and rewarding.
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Shane Drumm, holding certifications in PMP®, PMI-ACP®, CSM, and LPM, is the author behind numerous articles featured here. Hailing from County Cork, Ireland, his expertise lies in implementing Agile methodologies with geographically dispersed teams for software development projects. In his leisure, he dedicates time to web development and Ironman triathlon training. Find out more about Shane on shanedrumm.com and please reach out and connect with Shane on LinkedIn.