Jobs to Be Done Mapping
A framework for understanding why customers 'hire' a product or service — what job they're trying to get done in their lives. Developed by Clayton Christensen, JTBD shifts focus from user demographics to the functional, emotional, and social jobs customers need done. A well-mapped JTBD reveals competitive alternatives that demographics never would.
Cómo ejecutarlo
- 1
Start from research: interviews, support tickets, churn interviews, sales call recordings. Look for the moment of 'hiring' — when did someone switch from their old solution to yours?
- 2
For each key use case, map the job using the structure: Situation → Motivation → Expected Outcome ('When I [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]')
- 3
Identify the functional job (what they're trying to accomplish), the emotional job (how they want to feel), and the social job (how they want to be seen).
- 4
Map competing 'hires': what was the customer doing before your product? What would they use instead if you didn't exist? (Often surprising — a spreadsheet, a consultant, doing nothing.)
- 5
Identify unmet jobs: what jobs do customers need done that nothing in the market handles well?
- 6
Use the job map to challenge product decisions: 'Which job does this feature serve?'
Consejos
The best JTBD insights come from churn interviews — ask people why they stopped using your product.
'Hire a milkshake in the morning' (Christensen's famous example): commuters hired milkshakes as companions for a boring commute. Demographics never would have revealed this.
Avoid JTBD jargon in customer conversations — ask about situations and motivations naturally.
One product can serve multiple jobs. Map them separately.
Variaciones
JTBD timeline: map the full sequence of steps a customer takes to get a job done — each step is an opportunity for improvement or disruption.
Casos de uso
Métodos relacionados
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