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you prepare a meal. You might also
rely on a financial planner to help you
grow a retirement portfolio. Think of the
main job as the container that sets the
parameters of your innovation effort.
While the main job is expressed in
functional terms, JTBD also considers
emotional and social aspects. How does
the performer feel while executing the
job? How do they wish to be perceived?
These are an important part of the
JTBD approach, framing analysis and
how you’ll approach finding solutions.
Process. How does the performer
reach their goal? The job performer
moves through different stages or
sub-goals to accomplish the main job.
with his Outcome-Driven Innovation
(ODI) process, detailed in his book Jobs
To Be Done [ 5].
Solution space JTBD is also
concerned with understanding human
needs, but it’s grounded in some
existing feature set, product, or service.
Here, Bob Moesta has focused on the
motivational forces behind switching
from one product to another. His
popular Switch interview technique
starts with an existing product and
works back to the underlying objective.
My interpretation of JTBD is
largely influenced by Ulwick and
Outcome-Driven Innovation. But
I also believe that techniques from
other perspectives can be used and
combined. I see a broad collection of
techniques in the JTBD playbook that
can help design and designers be
more successful.
CORE ELEMENTS OF JTBD
A strength of the JTBD approach is its
structure, which separates different
aspects of achieving an objective. The
who, what, how, why, and when/where
are analyzed individually, giving the
approach both precision and flexibility.
My simplified model of JTBD has
five elements, shown in Figure 1:
Job performer. Who is trying
to get the job done? JTBD starts by
identifying the primary job executor
or the person who is striving to achieve
a goal. The purchase decision process
and buying motivations are considered
later but are separate concerns.
Jobs. What is the job performer
trying to achieve? There are different
types of jobs to consider. First, the
main job is a broad, functional objective
that frames your field of inquiry. For
example, you use an audio system
to listen to music. Or you enlist the
services of a meal-kit service to help
Figure 1. Simplified model of J TBD with five core elements.
Job Performer
who
Needs
why
Circumstances
when/ where
Jobs
what
Process
how
