Jobs-to-be-Done – What customers really want

Although they are launched with careful planning and significant investment of resources, many projects and products fail. This repeatedly raises the key question: why do projects fail? A key reason is likely to be that customers’ actual needs are not sufficiently identified and taken into account. This is precisely where the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) method can offer valuable support. It enables a thorough understanding of customers’ wishes and requirements, thereby allowing the development of products that are truly successful.

The Jobs-to-be-Done theory assumes that customers buy a product to perform a specific task – the ‘job’ – or to solve a problem. Instead of focusing solely on the product itself, JTBD focuses on the task the product is intended to fulfil. This perspective helps companies identify and specifically meet the true needs of their customers. JTBD thus offers a fundamentally new approach to product development and improvement by concentrating on the actual task the customer wishes to solve.
A telling example is the fate of BlackBerry: when the touchscreen iPhone was launched, BlackBerry clung to its keyboard technology. Had the company focused on analysing this new trend and had it oriented itself towards customer needs, it might not have fallen behind and might have reconsidered its rigid stance on physical keyboards.
JTBD was developed by Tony Ulwick. He argued that companies should understand the underlying process a customer goes through when using a product or service. Following initial successes, Ulwick presented his theory to Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School. Christensen brought JTBD to the attention of a wider audience.

To apply the JTBD approach, you first need to understand what task a customer actually wants to accomplish. People don’t buy products for their features; rather, they ‘hire’ them to perform a specific task.
For example: A project manager has to present the current status of a project at a team meeting once a week. To do this, they gather information from various sources, summarise it and create a presentation. Their actual job is therefore not ‘using PowerPoint’, but explaining the project status clearly and enabling the team to make decisions. This is precisely where JTBD comes in. When companies understand the process their customers go through to complete a task, they can develop solutions that make this process easier, faster or cheaper.

Defining the market

The first step is to define the market. In the JTBD context, a market is not made up of a product category, but of people who want to complete a specific task.
Suppose a company wants to develop software that automatically generates structured meeting minutes. The target audience is primarily team leaders and project managers. To better understand this market, the following key questions may be helpful; these could be sent out in a survey to various people within the company:

What needs to be innovated and who will use the innovation?
The company is developing a tool that automatically transcribes meetings (e.g. from video conferences) and summarises the key points in a structured manner. The users are team leaders, project managers and, where applicable, participants who were not present.

What task is the innovation intended to fulfil?
Users wish to concentrate on the content of the meeting without having to take notes at the same time. Furthermore, decisions, tasks and responsibilities should be clearly documented.

What tools are currently in use?
Currently, notes are taken manually (e.g. in Word or OneNote).

How could these tools be combined?
The new software could automatically analyse audio and video recordings, extract relevant content and generate structured minutes directly. Additionally, tasks could be automatically transferred to project management tools such as Jira or Asana.

Understanding the different customer groups

In addition to defining the market, it is important to understand exactly who interacts with the product. According to Tony Ulwick, these individuals can be divided into three groups.
 

• The job executor: This is the person who uses the product directly to carry out their task. In our example, this is the project manager or team leader. 
• The product lifecycle support team: This includes everyone who deals with the product throughout its lifecycle. This may include, for example, the IT department that installs and maintains the software, IT support that helps with problems, the office manager who procures licences, as well as trainers or internal coaches who train staff in using the software. These tasks are also referred to as consumption chain jobs.
• The buyer: The buyer is the person or group that makes the purchasing decision. In many companies, this is, for example, the management or the head of department. These individuals are often less interested in individual features and more concerned with costs, security or integration into existing systems.Distinguishing between these roles is important, as each group has different needs and expectations.

Creating the Job Map

Once these questions have been clarified, a JTBD map can be created for the customer. The aim is to identify ways in which customers can be helped to perform their tasks more effectively, and to establish a framework for identifying their needs. Each ‘job’ consists of eight steps, which may in turn comprise sub-steps. Interviews with customers can be conducted to obtain the answers for each step.
 

• Define: The user (e.g. project manager) sets the objective of the meeting and decides what content should be documented, such as decisions, tasks or key discussion points.
• Locate: The relevant information sources are then identified. These include the meeting itself in the form of audio or video recordings, the agenda, prepared documents and supplementary content from chat histories.
• Prepare: In the next step, a structure for the documentation is created. The user determines how the minutes should be organised, for example following the agenda, and ensures that all technical requirements, such as a recording, are in place.
• Confirm: Afterwards, a check is carried out to ensure that all relevant information can be captured. It is ensured that the technology is working, all participants can be understood, and no important content is missing.
• Execute: The meeting takes place and is documented. This is traditionally done through manual note-taking. One potential innovation involves AI automatically transcribing the meeting and capturing key content, such as decisions and tasks, in a structured manner.
• Monitor: During the meeting, it is observed whether the documentation is working as planned, whether important points are being fully captured, and whether any comprehension issues arise.
• Adjust: If necessary, adjustments are made by adding content, clarifying statements or reformulating tasks more clearly – either directly during the meeting or afterwards.
• Conclude: Finally, the minutes are finalised, saved and distributed to the participants. Relevant tasks are also transferred to project management tools.

Companies can only develop targeted innovations if they understand how their customers accomplish their tasks. The so-called JTBD Growth Strategy Matrix outlines various strategic approaches to achieving this.
 

• Differentiated strategy: This targets customers whose needs have so far been inadequately met. A company could, for example, develop an advanced AI tool that offers additional functions alongside transcription and minute-taking. These include prioritising tasks, identifying dependencies, sending automatic follow-up emails and creating summaries for different target groups. Furthermore, the system could identify missing information, such as responsibilities or deadlines. This solution is more complex and expensive, but offers significantly greater value to discerning users.
• Dominant strategy: A solution is developed that is better and cheaper than existing offerings. Instead of numerous additional features, the focus is on efficiency, for example through very fast and reliable transcription as well as automatic minutes generated directly within existing tools. The aim is to significantly simplify the standard process and reduce costs compared to manual work or existing solutions.
• Disruptive strategy: This strategy targets customers who have previously used no solutions or only very basic ones. A minimalist application could, for example, automatically summarise the key points of a meeting without offering a complex structure or customisation options. The solution is affordable and simple, yet meets the basic needs of many small teams.
• Discrete strategy: Here, solutions are developed for very specific situations. A specialised application could, for example, create minutes exclusively for legal or formal meetings where certain content or wording is mandatory.
• Maintenance strategy: With this strategy, established providers gradually improve their existing products. Instead of making fundamental changes, individual functions are optimised, for example through more accurate transcriptions, better user interfaces or more stable integrations.

By choosing the right strategy, companies can respond specifically to different market segments and develop innovations that actually support customers in completing their tasks.

The JTBD approach is innovative and suitable for defining markets and developing products. This approach differs from a customer journey map in that it does not describe the customer’s current behaviour, but rather the ideal sequence of steps the customer wishes to achieve for efficient task completion. Unlike traditional methods, where a market is developed around a specific product, JTBD defines the market based on the tasks to be performed. This approach requires a deep understanding of the tasks users wish to accomplish, as well as the challenges they face in doing so.
Focusing on the task to be performed ensures that one does not fixate on an outdated product, but continues to concentrate on the task. Whilst the task remains stable, the products that help with it may change over time. This approach creates added value for customers over the years.
Another key aspect is identifying customer needs. Once these needs are clearly defined, innovation becomes possible. To this end, product criteria must be developed that reflect the desired outcomes for customers. If the product ultimately fulfils the task successfully, the implementation has been successful. As the tasks remain constant, so do the needs. This makes it possible to quantify unmet needs and test new product ideas before they are developed.
People rarely choose a particular brand, but often base their decision on the current offering. A product may be inexpensive because customers do not wish to spend much, or more expensive if it fulfils the task better. Depending on the target group, the product can therefore be inexpensive or expensive, as long as it fulfils its task optimally.

Although the Jobs-to-be-Done theory may sound compelling, it can lead to the oversimplification of customer needs. Customers often have complex reasons for choosing a product, including emotional factors that this approach does not sufficiently account for.
Therefore, the team should continuously reflect on its decisions to ensure that no subjective judgements are made that could compromise the optimal solution for the respective task. Only through ongoing, critical reflection can we ensure that our products truly meet customers' diverse and complex needs.