jobs-to-be-done

What this skill does

# Jobs to Be Done - Customer Motivation Framework

> Understand why customers really buy by uncovering the "job" they're hiring your product to do

## When to Use This Skill

- **Understanding customer motivation** beyond demographics and feature requests
- **Finding product-market fit** by identifying the real progress customers seek
- **Discovering why customers switch** (or don't) between solutions
- **Identifying true competition** that isn't obvious from industry categories
- **Creating marketing messages** that resonate with real customer struggles
- **Prioritizing features** based on unmet customer needs
- **Conducting customer research** that reveals actionable insights

## Methodology Foundation

| Aspect | Details |
|--------|---------|
| **Source** | Competing Against Luck (2016), The Innovator's Solution (2003) |
| **Expert** | Clayton Christensen (Harvard Business School), Tony Ulwick (Strategyn) |
| **Core Principle** | "People don't buy products; they hire them to get jobs done. Understanding the job—not the customer or the product—is the key to predictable innovation." |


## What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide |
|-------------|------------|
| Structures production workflow | Final creative direction |
| Suggests technical approaches | Equipment and tool choices |
| Creates templates and checklists | Quality standards |
| Identifies best practices | Brand/voice decisions |
| Generates script outlines | Final script approval |

## What This Skill Does

This skill helps you shift from asking "Who is my customer?" to asking "What job is my customer trying to get done?"

The result is a fundamentally different understanding of why people buy:

1. **Uncover the real job** - The progress customers are trying to make in their lives
2. **See all three dimensions** - Functional, emotional, and social needs
3. **Understand the forces** - What pushes people to change and what holds them back
4. **Map the job** - Break it down into steps where you can add value
5. **Identify true competition** - Everyone solving the same job, regardless of category

This transforms feature-driven product development into progress-driven innovation.

## How to Use

### Prompt Examples

```
Help me identify the Job to Be Done for customers who buy [product/service].
Use the Christensen JTBD framework. Consider functional, emotional, and social dimensions.
```

```
I'm seeing customers use my product for [unexpected purpose]. Help me understand
what job they might be hiring it for using JTBD analysis.
```

```
Create a Job Map for [specific customer goal]. Break it into the 8 universal steps
and identify where customers might struggle most.
```

```
Analyze the forces of progress for someone switching from [current solution] to [my product].
What's pushing them, pulling them, causing anxiety, and creating habit inertia?
```

```
Write Job Stories (not user stories) for my [product]. Focus on situation,
motivation, and expected outcome rather than user type and action.
```

## Instructions

### The Core Framework

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  JOBS TO BE DONE                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  "When [CIRCUMSTANCE], I want to [JOB], so I can [OUTCOME]" │
│                                                             │
│  ┌───────────┐   ┌───────────┐   ┌───────────┐             │
│  │FUNCTIONAL │ + │ EMOTIONAL │ + │  SOCIAL   │             │
│  │    JOB    │   │    JOB    │   │    JOB    │             │
│  └───────────┘   └───────────┘   └───────────┘             │
│                                                             │
│  What they're    How they want   How they want              │
│  trying to DO    to FEEL         to be SEEN                 │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

---

### Step 1: Understand the Three Dimensions

Every job has three dimensions. Products that address all three are far more likely to be "hired."

| Dimension | Question | Example (Fitness App) |
|-----------|----------|-----------------------|
| **Functional** | What are they trying to accomplish? | Get exercise guidance and track workouts |
| **Emotional** | How do they want to feel? | Feel confident, accomplished, in control of health |
| **Social** | How do they want to be perceived? | Be seen as fit, disciplined, health-conscious |

**Key Insight**: Many products fail because they nail the functional job but ignore the emotional and social dimensions.

**Exercise**: For your product, fill in:
- "Customers hire us to **DO** _______________"
- "Customers hire us to **FEEL** _______________"
- "Customers hire us to **BE SEEN AS** _______________"

---

### Step 2: Identify the Forces of Progress

Four forces determine whether a customer will "switch" to your solution:

```
                    ┌─────────────┐
                    │    PUSH     │
                    │ Problems    │
                    │ with status │
                    │    quo      │
                    └──────┬──────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   HABIT     │←────│   CUSTOMER   │────→│    PULL     │
│  Comfort    │     │   DECISION   │     │ Attraction  │
│  with old   │     └──────────────┘     │   of new    │
│   way       │                          │  solution   │
└─────────────┘            ↑              └─────────────┘
                    ┌──────┴──────┐
                    │   ANXIETY   │
                    │   Fear of   │
                    │   change    │
                    └─────────────┘
```

**Switch happens when**: Push + Pull > Habit + Anxiety

| Force | What to Ask | Example |
|-------|-------------|---------|
| **Push** | What's frustrating about their current situation? | "I keep losing track of my workouts in notebooks" |
| **Pull** | What's appealing about the new solution? | "The app shows my progress visually" |
| **Anxiety** | What fears do they have about changing? | "What if I can't figure out how to use it?" |
| **Habit** | What's comfortable about the status quo? | "I've always used notebooks, it's familiar" |

**Tactical Application**:
- **Increase Push**: Help customers see the true cost of their current solution
- **Increase Pull**: Demonstrate the progress they can make
- **Reduce Anxiety**: Provide guarantees, trials, social proof
- **Reduce Habit**: Make switching easy, offer migration tools

---

### Step 3: Map the Job

Break down any job into the universal 8-step Job Map:

| Step | Description | Questions to Ask |
|------|-------------|------------------|
| **1. Define** | Determine goals and plan | "What are you trying to accomplish?" |
| **2. Locate** | Gather inputs needed | "What do you need to get started?" |
| **3. Prepare** | Set up and organize | "How do you get ready?" |
| **4. Confirm** | Verify readiness | "How do you know you're ready?" |
| **5. Execute** | Perform the core job | "What are the key steps?" |
| **6. Monitor** | Check progress | "How do you know it's working?" |
| **7. Modify** | Make adjustments | "What do you change if needed?" |
| **8. Conclude** | Wrap up and clean up | "How do you finish up?" |

**Example: Job = "Prepare a nutritious dinner on a busy weeknight"**

| Step | Activity | Struggle Points |
|------|----------|-----------------|
| Define | Decide what to make | Too many options, dietary restrictions |
| Locate | Get ingredients | Missing items, trip to store |
| Prepare | Prep ingredients | Takes too long, messy |
| Confirm | Check recipe | Confusing instructions |
| Execute | Cook the meal | Timing multiple dishes |
| Monitor | Watch for doneness | Burning, undercooking |
| Modify | Adjust seasoning | Unsure how to fix mistakes |
| Conclude | Serve and clean | Pile of dish