{"id":764470,"date":"2021-08-04T09:42:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T16:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&p=764470"},"modified":"2021-08-04T09:45:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T16:45:21","slug":"jobs-to-be-done-a-useful-framework-for-driving-customer-value","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/research\/articles\/jobs-to-be-done-a-useful-framework-for-driving-customer-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Jobs to be done: A useful framework for driving customer value"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Hugh North (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Carolyn Bufford Funk, Ph.D. (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, and\u00a0Veronika Sipeeva (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"happy<\/p>\n

Image credit: iStock<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Customers will always surprise you with the creative ways they use your product. They don\u2019t do it deliberately \u2013 they\u2019re just adapting your product to their needs<\/span><\/i>.\u201d\u00a0Des Traynor<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0Intercom on Jobs-to-be-Done,\u201d 2017<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u00a0would\u00a0the customer\u00a0buy\u00a0our\u00a0product or service?\u201d\u00a0is a question that guides nearly any value prop discussion. But if we put this into the customer perspective, what the\u00a0company\u00a0needs to understand\u00a0is\u00a0what people are trying to get done,\u00a0what\u00a0problems\u00a0they are trying to solve, and what successfully solving these\u00a0problems\u00a0really means.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As researchers we\u2019re well-equipped to\u00a0answer these questions\u00a0using different approaches and frameworks, including the\u00a0Jobs-to-be-Done\u00a0(JBTD)\u00a0framework that is gaining more and more traction\u00a0among our research community.\u00a0If you\u00a0have been\u00a0following the Jobs-to-be-Done discussions,\u00a0you probably already\u00a0heard of\u00a0<\/span>the milkshake story<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, where Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen and his team were working with a fast-food restaurant chain to improve the sales of their milkshakes. If you\u2019re new to the JBTD, you may be taken aback by different approaches to defining a job and different schools of thought, and\u00a0<\/span>Jim Kalbach\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe<\/span>\u00a0Jobs to be Done playbook\u201d<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0can\u00a0be a great resource to guide you through your exploration.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Note:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0A framework is just that \u2013 a framework. It\u00a0is designed to help you describe\u00a0what is happening in a simplified way.\u00a0As with any framework, you\u2019ll need to define what you\u2019re trying to get done and how you want to use it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What these\u00a0jobs\u00a0are<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019ll\u00a0use Jim Kalbach\u2019s definition of a job as \u201cthe process of reaching objectives under given circumstances\u201d, where he deliberately chooses the word\u00a0\u201cobjective.\u201d\u00a0A quick search\u00a0on the difference between the goal and the objective\u00a0gets\u00a0us\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>an editorial article on Indeed.com<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, where \u201cGoals are the outcomes you intend to achieve, whereas objectives are the specific actions and measurable steps that you need to take to achieve a goal.\u201d\u00a0Sounds easy, right?\u00a0Often,\u00a0one\u00a0of\u00a0the hardest parts\u00a0in the framework is defining the right level of\u00a0abstraction or\u00a0altitude\u00a0for your job.\u00a0<\/span>Jobs\u00a0vary in size,\u00a0from\u00a0micro-jobs like\u00a0\u201cwriting a letter\u201d\u00a0to\u00a0bigger jobs\u00a0like\u00a0\u201ctaking\u00a0care of\u00a0a\u00a0family member\u00a0who is far away.\u201d\u00a0A good example\u00a0of how the jobs might stack\u00a0might be\u00a0a situation when your dog\u00a0unexpectedly\u00a0chews on the pair of\u00a0your hiking boots.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"jobsYou will need to decide for yourself which level is the most useful to choose for your project. We found that if you\u2019re thinking big and long-term it might be helpful to focus on the bigger jobs and aspirations. But if your goal is to make improvements to the existing product or service, focusing on big and smaller jobs, defining what success looks like for these jobs from the customer viewpoint is a helpful approach.\u00a0\u00a0In this example, you need to find a pair of hiking boots because you want to go on a hike. There might be many reasons why you want to do so: Maybe you just want to get outside and get some fresh air, maybe you want to get some exercise and you aspire to be a healthy person. You notice how by asking \u2018Why\u2019 you can move up and by asking \u2018How\u2019 you can move down \u2013 a useful tip from\u00a0<\/span>The Jobs to be Done\u00a0<\/span>P<\/span>laybook<\/span>\u00a0by Jim Kalbach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You would also notice that all\u00a0the jobs above, even the micro-ones,\u00a0are\u00a0tool\u00a0agnostic. Because of this, the competition is not just what you are building, but everything else out there \u2014 even non-technological or non-intelligent solutions. A good example of this might be note-taking: People have many options for this job, from sticky notes or a sheet of paper to dictating a message to themselves, or sending themselves an email, and they could choose from a whole host of applications. What makes the most sense and is easiest in the moment will often influence the choice of tool or tools.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In our experience, it is\u00a0<\/span>very\u00a0<\/span>rare to be building a\u00a0<\/span>technology solution for a user job that does not have<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0pre-existing solution<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in some form \u2013 a critical concept in\u00a0<\/span>successfully\u00a0<\/span>using\u00a0<\/span>jobs to be done in product design is\u00a0<\/span>to recognize\u00a0<\/span>your solution is\u00a0<\/span>always<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>occurring<\/span>\u00a0in a competitive\u00a0<\/span>landscape.\u00a0<\/span>Research-backed innovative design of<\/span>\u00a0a solution that helps users is never enough. Your solution needs to be better than all other\u00a0<\/span>available\u00a0<\/span>options<\/span>, and those options are not limited to the same frame as you are\u00a0<\/span>working<\/span>\u00a0in (like<\/span>\u00a0software).<\/span><\/p>\n

Extending our example of not<\/span><\/span><\/span>e-taking, we’ll see<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>our<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0text-focused applications (like Microsoft Word or Notepad) are, for example, in daily competition with\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>each other,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>pen and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>notepads<\/span><\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span><\/span>ost-its,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Microsoft Excel (often used to record lists and other\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>note-like\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>text<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0or to-dos<\/span><\/span><\/span>!),\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>decorative\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>leather-bound<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>journals<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>technology\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>solutions built by\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>our software and service competitors.<\/span><\/span><\/span> Now imagine going one level up, thinking about why someone is taking notes. Maybe<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0they want to keep track of the project they are working on. In that case, your solution is going to compete not just with note-taking tools per se but also in the project-management space.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The context of the job<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People tend to shift between various physical, emotional, and social contexts. If you take our hiking boots example, different emotional contexts come to mind: You may want to go on a hike to \u201cfind solitude\u201d or you might be \u201cmeeting with friends.\u201d Maybe you are someone who wants to be seen as fashionable, and how you look on a hike is important for you.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The context, circumstances or,\u00a0per\u00a0<\/span>Stephen\u00a0<\/span>Wunker<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cjob\u00a0<\/span>drivers,<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>are\u00a0essential to the Jobs-to-be-Done framework,\u00a0especially when you\u2019re thinking about segmentation\u00a0or are\u00a0working\u00a0on products that\u00a0span multiple contexts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u00a0also know, from research that we and our colleagues have done, that people shift frequently between applications and identities during a typical day.\u00a0As they do, they use many different apps (both free and paid), devices, and endpoints \u2013 across ecosystems \u2013 for both work and personal use. We saw this with\u00a0<\/span>high-intensity users<\/span><\/a>, and similar patterns have been observed\u00a0<\/span>with very small business owners<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Context can significantly impact how successful your solution is \u2013 the optimal\u00a0<\/span>solut<\/span>ions take into consideration a user\u2019s context and how those contexts change. In addition, designers and researchers should cons<\/span>ider how the context of\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0solution or product\u00a0<\/span>will change over time. Since jobs to be\u00a0<\/span>done are almost always competitive with some other option, novel or new applications or features\u00a0<\/span>have headwinds at launch\u00a0<\/span>their known<\/span>, successful competitors don\u2019t have.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>To \u2018win\u2019 attention and\u00a0<\/span>share, new solutions for a user job often need to be significantly better than alternatives to overcome the challenges\u00a0<\/span>users experience\u00a0<\/span>in discovering and\u00a0<\/span>successfully<\/span>\u00a0using\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0new solution.<\/span>\u00a0The products you will be competing with go beyond your list of direct competitors, so your solution needs to be better\u00a0<\/span>at supporting what the customer is trying to get done. That might include eliminating the micro-jobs and making it easier for the customer to achieve the bigger objectives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>We\u00a0know that the discussions on JBTD often lack the descriptions of research methodologies. In this\u00a0post, we\u00a0haven\u2019t touched on how to\u00a0design your qualitative and quantitative research in order to\u00a0get to your job\u00a0statements.\u00a0That is a topic for another discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to track if\u00a0users are achieving their JTBD<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As with any framework, it is important to track whether Jobs to be Done is delivering on its promise. Usability would be the most direct test of JTBD success, but some additional measures could include:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n