16 :: JTBD

🚪TL;DR:
Our lives are a perpetual pursuit of solutions for problems. At work, at home, in our hobbies, with our family, friends or personal interests, there are always challenges to overcome and things to get done. Jobs-to-get-done. And we always strive for ease and speed. It is human nature and, therefore, customer nature too. Hence, when innovation is developed backwards from concrete JTBD in a well-known target - i.e. when it guides decision-making to enable that ease and speed -, it becomes more effective and more likely to succeed. So, what are your customers’ jobs-to-be-done and how is your innovation helping to get them done?

🧠 What is it?
Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) is a framework used to define, categorize, capture and organize customer needs. Its theory is based on the economic principle that people buy products and services to get “jobs” done, so it tries to understand how functional, social and emotional needs influence people’s behavior when they are trying to accomplish a given task, to achieve a certain goal, or to solve their problems.

📦 Why is it relevant?
JBTD set up the foundation for the how in innovation, as it provides insights into the true reasons customers make choices. Those reasons help innovators work on more effective solutions - products or services that align closely with their customers’ needs and desires in the right context. They are also essential for the what, the why, and the who, though, allowing every stakeholder involved in the innovation process (from the leader to the designer or the developer) to share a common understanding (full clarity and alignment) of what and why the innovation is trying to achieve for who (not only the customer, but the job executor).

🧶 Where to learn more about it:
The innovation success stories of P&G (here or here) were the strongest drivers for me to join the company last year. Most (if not all) of them are grounded on this framework, and now I can attest first hand to how impactful it is. As such, learning more about it through its example is the best source I can recommend. The article where the above quote is from and the book Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice are also good ones. If all you want is to start working on your own JTBD right away, you can use this online canvas from Miro.

See you next Tuesday! 👋