Jobs To Be Done

Jobs to Be Done examines the progress someone seeks in particular circumstances and how they choose products, services, or other ways to make that progress. Relevant dimensions can be functional, social, and emotional. The job is a provisional explanation grounded in actual circumstances, not necessarily a single obvious functional outcome.

Describe the progress a person seeks in a specific situation before deciding what category of solution belongs there. The same object can serve different purposes, and the same purpose can be served by different objects or by changing a routine. Include functional, emotional, and social dimensions when the person's account supports them.

A proposed job is an interpretation to check, not a hidden truth the interviewer can simply declare. Reconstruct a recent decision: what changed, what alternatives were considered, what was tried, and what tradeoffs mattered. Use that account to improve the offer, while preserving disagreement and variation among people.

When to use it

When product innovation is stuck in feature competition within a category; when customer needs seem unclear despite survey data; when market share is being lost to non-obvious competitors; when designing new products and need to identify genuine customer needs rather than stated preferences.

How it can help

Reconstruct a specific choice or struggle, identify relevant alternatives, and test whether a proposed offer helps the progress the person describes. Avoid assuming the job is almost never what the provider thinks or that an interview reveals a single definitive answer.