jobs-to-be-done

What this skill does

# Jobs to Be Done Framework

Framework for discovering innovation based on a fundamental truth: customers don't buy products - they "hire" them to do a specific job in their lives.

## Core Principle

**Job to Be Done** = the progress a customer wants to make in specific circumstances.

Key elements of the definition:

- **Progress** (not goal, not solution) - customer wants to move from current state to a better one
- **Circumstances** - context determines the job, not customer attributes (demographics are useless)
- **Hiring/Firing** - customer actively chooses a product for the "job"

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** When reviewing or creating product strategy or positioning, rate it 0-10 based on adherence to the principles below. A 10/10 means full alignment with all guidelines; lower scores indicate gaps to address. Always provide the current score and specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.

## Three Dimensions of Every Job

Every job has three inseparable dimensions - omitting any means failure:

| Dimension | Question | Example (milkshake) |
|-----------|----------|---------------------|
| **Functional** | What does the customer need to do? | Occupy myself during boring commute |
| **Emotional** | How do they want to feel? | Have a small treat for myself |
| **Social** | How do they want to be perceived? | As a sensible parent (not buying donuts) |

## Framework

### 1. The Job Statement

**Core concept:** A job statement captures the progress a customer seeks in a specific circumstance, expressed in a structured format that separates context, desired progress, and expected outcome.

**Why it works:** By forcing teams to articulate the job in the customer's language and circumstances, it prevents solution-first thinking and keeps innovation grounded in real human progress.

**Key insights:**

- The format is: "When [circumstances], I want to [progress], so I can [outcome]"
- Circumstances matter more than customer demographics - the same person has different jobs in different situations
- A well-written job statement never mentions your product or any specific solution
- Jobs are stable over time; solutions change but the underlying job persists

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| New product ideation | Define the job before brainstorming features | "When I'm commuting alone, I want something to occupy me and satisfy hunger, so I'm not hungry until lunch" |
| Feature prioritization | Evaluate whether a feature serves the core job | Prioritize features that help accomplish the stated job over nice-to-have additions |
| Positioning & messaging | Use the job statement language in marketing copy | Lead with the circumstance and desired progress, not product specs |

**Copy patterns:**

- "When you're [circumstance], you need [progress] -- that's exactly what [product] does"
- Lead with the situation the customer recognizes, not the product category
- Mirror the emotional and social dimensions alongside the functional one

**Ethical boundary:** Never fabricate or exaggerate circumstances to manufacture urgency. The job must reflect genuine customer progress, not artificially created anxiety.

See: [references/innovation-process.md](references/innovation-process.md)

### 2. Forces of Progress (Push, Pull, Anxiety, Habit)

**Core concept:** The decision to "hire" a new product results from the interplay of four forces: Push (frustration with current situation), Pull (attraction of new solution), Anxiety (fear of the new), and Habit (comfort with current behavior). Change only happens when Push + Pull > Habit + Anxiety.

**Why it works:** Most innovation efforts focus only on making the product better (increasing Pull), but ignore the equally powerful anti-change forces. Understanding all four forces reveals why great products still fail to gain adoption.

**Key insights:**

- Push is frustration with the current situation ("this annoys me")
- Pull is the attraction of a new solution ("I want this")
- Habit is attachment to current behavior ("I've always done it this way")
- Anxiety is fear of the new ("what if it doesn't work?")
- Often it's more effective to reduce anxiety and habit than to increase push and pull
- Passive seekers (vaguely aware of a problem) are easier to influence than active seekers who already have criteria

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| Onboarding design | Reduce anxiety with free trials, guarantees, and social proof | Money-back guarantee addresses "what if it doesn't work?" anxiety |
| Switching campaigns | Address habit directly by making migration effortless | One-click data import from competitor reduces habit friction |
| Content marketing | Awaken push in passive seekers by naming their frustration | Blog post: "5 signs your current tool is costing you hours every week" |

**Copy patterns:**

- Address anxiety directly: "No lock-in, cancel anytime, your data is always yours"
- Name the push: "Tired of [frustration]? There's a better way"
- Reduce habit friction: "Switch in 5 minutes -- we import everything automatically"

**Ethical boundary:** Never manufacture artificial push by exaggerating pain or creating fear. Reducing real anxiety is ethical; creating new anxiety to drive sales is manipulation.

See: [references/competitive-strategy.md](references/competitive-strategy.md)

### 3. The Big Hire & Little Hire

**Core concept:** There are two distinct decision moments: the Big Hire (purchase/signup decision, happens once) and the Little Hire (decision to use in the moment, happens repeatedly). Winning the Big Hire does not guarantee the Little Hire.

**Why it works:** Many products win the sale but lose the customer because they optimize only for the purchase decision and neglect the repeated usage decision. Understanding both moments reveals where retention problems truly originate.

**Key insights:**

- Big Hire is driven by marketing, onboarding, and first impressions
- Little Hire is driven by product quality, UX, and ongoing value delivery
- Many products lose at the Little Hire stage -- purchased but never used
- The forces of progress operate differently at each stage: Big Hire anxiety is about the purchase risk; Little Hire anxiety is about effort and learning curves
- Retention problems are almost always Little Hire failures, not Big Hire failures

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| Retention analysis | Distinguish Big Hire metrics from Little Hire metrics | Track "first use after signup" and "weekly active usage" separately from signup conversion |
| Product design | Optimize the repeated usage experience, not just first impression | Reduce friction in daily workflows even if onboarding is already smooth |
| Customer success | Monitor Little Hire signals to predict churn | Declining usage frequency is a Little Hire failure signaling upcoming churn |

**Copy patterns:**

- Big Hire copy focuses on the promise: "Transform how you [job]"
- Little Hire copy focuses on ease: "One click and you're done"
- Re-engagement copy addresses Little Hire failure: "We've made [specific friction] easier"

**Ethical boundary:** Never design dark patterns that win the Big Hire (e.g., hidden fees, misleading trials) while failing the Little Hire. Both decisions must deliver genuine progress.

See: [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md)

### 4. Competitive Landscape (Non-Obvious Competition)

**Core concept:** True competition is everything a customer can "hire" for the same job, often from completely different product categories. Competitors are defined by the job, not by industry classification.

**Why it works:** Analyzing competition through product categories creates blind spots. A milkshake competes with bananas, bagels, boredom, and podcasts. Netflix competes with TikTok, sleep, family conversation,