Jobs to Be Done (JTBD): Understanding User Needs

Introduction

Why do customers choose one product over another? The answer often goes beyond features or price—it’s about solving a specific problem in their lives.

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework flips traditional thinking by focusing on what customers are trying to achieve, not just what they say they want. It emphasizes the “job” a product is hired to perform, delivering meaningful outcomes rather than simply checking feature boxes.

Eager to learn how JTBD can revolutionize your approach to product development? Let’s unpack its core principles, components, and practical applications.

What is the Jobs to Be Done Framework?

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework provides a fresh perspective on understanding customer needs. Instead of focusing on the surface-level requests or features customers think they need, JTBD dives into the deeper motivations behind their actions.

This approach emphasizes the “job” customers are hiring a product or service to perform. It’s not about the product itself but the outcomes it delivers and the problems it solves. By adopting this mindset, product managers can create solutions that resonate deeply with users and address their true needs.

Let’s explore how this framework shifts the way we think about product development and why it’s so impactful.

Moving Beyond Features

Traditional product development often revolves around adding more features to meet perceived customer demands. However, these additions don’t always align with what users truly value.

The JTBD framework encourages a shift from feature-based thinking to outcome-based thinking. Instead of asking, “What features do customers want?” it asks, “What job are customers trying to get done?”

For instance, when someone buys a drill, they aren’t purchasing it for the tool itself—they’re buying it to complete the job of creating a hole. By focusing on the job, businesses can identify better ways to serve customer needs, whether through improved design, additional support, or entirely new solutions.

Focusing on Problems, Not Solutions

The heart of the JTBD framework lies in understanding problems from the customer’s perspective. Customers don’t wake up wanting a new product—they want a solution to their frustrations, inefficiencies, or desires.

For example, a commuter might use a ride-sharing app not because they want an app but because they need a reliable, convenient way to get to work. By addressing the underlying problem—transportation that fits their schedule and budget—the product becomes indispensable.

This mindset encourages teams to empathize with users and prioritize their goals over simply improving the product itself.

Why JTBD Matters

The JTBD framework bridges the gap between what customers say and what they truly need. By aligning product goals with the outcomes users seek, it creates a roadmap for meaningful innovation.

When applied effectively, JTBD can reveal unmet needs, inspire creative solutions, and ensure that products deliver real value, making them indispensable in customers’ lives.

In the next sections, we’ll dive into the core components of JTBD and explore how you can use this framework to elevate your product development process.

Key Components of JTBD

The Jobs to Be Done framework is built on a few fundamental components that help clarify and structure customer needs. Understanding these components provides a solid foundation for applying JTBD to product development.

By breaking down customer motivations into manageable elements, you can identify opportunities to create products that align with their goals, contexts, and desired outcomes.

Let’s take a closer look at the key components that make JTBD so effective.

The Job

At the core of JTBD is the job itself—the goal or task the customer is trying to accomplish. This is the primary driver behind why a customer chooses to use a particular product or service.

For example, consider someone who buys a meal kit delivery service. The job isn’t just about “getting food.” It’s about preparing a quick, healthy dinner without the hassle of shopping or meal planning.

Identifying the core job helps you strip away distractions and focus on what really matters to your customers. It also allows you to see beyond your product's current capabilities and imagine new ways to fulfill that job.

Context

Every job exists within a specific context, which includes the circumstances or environment that create the need. Context shapes how and when customers look for solutions.

For instance, the need for a meal kit delivery service might arise on busy weeknights when time is short and convenience is critical. Alternatively, someone planning a dinner party might prioritize gourmet options and variety.

By understanding the context, you can tailor your product to fit seamlessly into the customer’s life, addressing their needs in the moments that matter most.

Desired Outcome

The desired outcome is the result the customer wants to achieve by completing the job. This outcome is often a combination of functional and emotional benefits.

For the meal kit delivery example, the functional outcome might be “a tasty, nutritious meal in under 30 minutes,” while the emotional outcome could be “feeling confident and accomplished in the kitchen.”

Recognizing both aspects helps you design products that deliver not just practical solutions but also emotional satisfaction, which drives loyalty and advocacy.

Functional and Emotional Aspects

One of JTBD’s strengths is its acknowledgment of both functional and emotional dimensions of customer needs.

Functional aspects focus on the practical benefits a product provides—speed, efficiency, or reliability. Emotional aspects, on the other hand, relate to how the product makes the customer feel—empowered, reassured, or inspired.

By addressing both, you create products that resonate on a deeper level, building stronger connections with your users.

Applying JTBD in Product Development

Applying the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework in product development requires a structured approach to uncovering customer needs and translating them into actionable innovations.

This process helps you move from understanding the underlying jobs to designing solutions that meet both functional and emotional needs. Let’s explore the steps involved in leveraging JTBD to create impactful products.

Step 1: Conduct Customer Interviews

The first step is to deeply understand your customers’ lives, challenges, and motivations. Conducting customer interviews is the most effective way to gather insights.

Instead of asking directly about features or preferences, focus on open-ended questions like:

• "What were you trying to accomplish when you used this product?"
• "What made you choose this solution over others?"
• "What challenges did you face during the process?"

These questions uncover the context and desired outcomes that drive the job. Pay attention to both explicit statements and underlying patterns in their responses.

Recording and analyzing these interviews can help identify recurring themes, offering a clearer picture of the jobs your customers are trying to accomplish.

Step 2: Identify Core Jobs

Once you’ve gathered insights, the next step is to distill them into primary and supporting jobs.

Primary jobs are the main goals customers are trying to achieve. For example, a communication app's primary job might be "to easily connect with others."
Supporting jobs enhance the experience of completing the primary job, such as "sharing photos or videos quickly."

By mapping out these core and supporting jobs, you can prioritize which areas to focus on during product development.

Step 3: Innovate Around the Job

With a clear understanding of the job and its context, you can start designing features or solutions that address unmet needs.

Ask yourself:

• How can we make this job faster or easier for the customer?
• What barriers or frustrations can we eliminate?
• Are there ways to add value through emotional or experiential enhancements?

For instance, if customers want to "prepare a healthy dinner quickly," a meal kit delivery service might innovate by introducing pre-chopped ingredients or recipe customization options.

The goal is to think beyond existing features and explore ways to deliver better outcomes for your customers.

Step 4: Test and Iterate

JTBD is not a one-and-done exercise; it requires continuous validation and refinement.

Test your solutions with real users to ensure they effectively address the identified jobs. Gather feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and where improvements are needed.

Iterative testing allows you to fine-tune your product, ensuring it aligns with customer needs while staying competitive in the market.

Examples of JTBD in Action

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework has transformed the way companies approach product innovation. By focusing on the outcomes customers want to achieve, businesses uncover opportunities to address unmet needs and differentiate themselves from competitors. Let’s examine a few real-world examples to see JTBD in action.

Example 1: Ride-Sharing Apps

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft don’t just provide transportation—they address the job of “getting from one place to another quickly, conveniently, and affordably.”

Key Components of the Job:

• The Job: Get to a destination.
• Context: Busy urban areas, late-night outings, or when public transportation is unavailable.
• Desired Outcome: A safe, reliable, and cost-effective ride without the hassle of owning a car or finding parking.

By understanding this job, these companies introduced features like ride scheduling, driver ratings, and upfront pricing to make the experience seamless and trustworthy.

Example 2: Meal Kit Delivery Services

Meal kit delivery services, such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh, target the job of “preparing a nutritious and delicious meal with minimal effort.”

Key Components of the Job:

• The Job: Prepare meals efficiently without sacrificing quality.
• Context: Time-poor individuals who want to cook at home but lack the time to plan, shop, or prep ingredients.
• Desired Outcome: A tasty, home-cooked meal with variety, convenience, and minimal food waste.

To meet this need, companies offer pre-portioned ingredients, simple instructions, and flexible subscriptions. By focusing on the job rather than the product, these services cater to both functional needs (efficiency) and emotional needs (confidence in cooking).

Example 3: Digital Note-Taking Apps

Apps like Evernote or Notion address the job of “organizing thoughts and information for easy access and collaboration.”

Key Components of the Job:

• The Job: Manage and retrieve important notes or ideas.
• Context: Professionals or students juggling multiple tasks or projects.
• Desired Outcome: A clear, structured system for note-taking that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

By enabling cloud syncing, keyword search, and templates, these apps make the job simpler and more effective, creating loyal user bases that rely on their functionality.

Lessons Learned

These examples highlight how businesses can identify and innovate around jobs to meet customer needs. The success of these products lies not in their features alone but in their ability to deliver outcomes that resonate with customers’ lives.

Benefits and Challenges

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework offers a fresh perspective on product development, focusing on delivering value by addressing the underlying goals of customers. However, like any approach, it comes with its own set of benefits and challenges. Let’s explore both to understand how to leverage JTBD effectively.

Benefits of Using JTBD

Encourages a Deeper Understanding of Customer Problems
By shifting focus from surface-level requests to the actual jobs customers need to accomplish, JTBD helps uncover deeper insights. This understanding allows teams to design solutions that address the root causes of customer pain points, resulting in products that resonate more strongly with users.

Shifts Focus from Features to Outcomes
Instead of competing on the basis of feature count, JTBD emphasizes outcomes—what the customer achieves with the product. This leads to innovation that aligns closely with real-world needs, rather than building features that may go unused.

For example, a camera company might focus less on megapixels and more on the job of capturing and sharing high-quality memories effortlessly.

Identifies New Market Opportunities
JTBD often reveals unmet or underserved jobs that traditional market research might overlook. By identifying these opportunities, businesses can innovate and capture new segments of the market.

Think of how Airbnb recognized the job of providing “unique and affordable travel experiences with a personal touch,” transforming how people approach accommodations.

Promotes Differentiation
By addressing jobs better than competitors, companies can establish a unique value proposition. This differentiation can lead to increased customer loyalty and market share.

Challenges of Implementing JTBD

Requires In-Depth Research
Effectively applying JTBD demands comprehensive customer interviews and detailed analysis. Surface-level observations won’t suffice—teams need to dig deep into the context and motivations behind customer actions.

This depth requires time, resources, and skilled interviewers who can ask the right questions and interpret responses accurately.

Synthesizing Findings Can Be Complex
Converting qualitative research into actionable insights can be challenging. Distilling interviews into clear jobs and outcomes requires a structured approach and may involve several iterations.

Misinterpreting findings can lead to incorrect assumptions about what customers truly value, potentially derailing the product development process.

Requires a Cultural Shift in Teams
Many teams are accustomed to feature-based thinking. Adopting JTBD often involves a mindset shift, encouraging teams to think more holistically about customer needs. This transition can be difficult, especially in organizations with entrenched workflows.

May Overlook Edge Cases
While JTBD focuses on common customer jobs, it might not fully account for niche or edge-case scenarios. Balancing these broader insights with specific user feedback is essential to ensure no significant customer segment is left unaddressed.

Weighing the Benefits Against the Challenges

Despite its challenges, the JTBD framework provides a robust foundation for creating products that solve real problems and deliver meaningful outcomes. By investing in research, fostering collaboration, and maintaining a customer-centric focus, teams can overcome hurdles and unlock the full potential of this methodology.

Incorporating JTBD into your product management toolkit is more than just a strategy—it’s a way to align innovation with the values and goals of your customers.

Conclusion

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework serves as a powerful lens through which to understand your customers. By identifying the underlying jobs they hire products to perform, you can create solutions that truly make a difference.

While challenges such as research complexity and organizational shifts may arise, the benefits—deeper customer insights, focused innovation, and market differentiation—are well worth the effort.

In today’s competitive landscape, understanding and applying JTBD is not just an advantage; it’s essential for long-term success. So, ask yourself: What job is your product being hired to do, and how can you perform it better than anyone else?

This article is part of the "Frameworks for Product Managers" series.