Jobs to Be Done: Understand What Customers Are Really Buying

What is Jobs to Be Done?

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a way to investigate the progress someone wants to make in a particular circumstance. It helps explain why a customer chooses a solution, keeps an existing workaround, or avoids change.

A job includes practical outcomes and may also involve emotional or social concerns. The Christensen Institute describes these dimensions and the importance of circumstances.

A useful job statement describes the customer outcome without locking in your product as the answer. “Use our calendar app” is a feature-led statement. “Keep appointments organized when staff schedules change” leaves room to investigate how people achieve that outcome today.

Why it matters

JTBD helps you choose an outcome before deciding which features or messages to build. Similar job titles can hide different circumstances.

It complements an ideal customer profile. The ICP helps identify whom you can serve and reach; a job investigation helps explain what progress they are pursuing and why now.

Question	Useful evidence
What triggered action?	A recent event or changed circumstance
What progress was needed?	A concrete outcome and how success was judged
What was used instead?	Actual tools, people, or manual work
Why was change difficult?	Cost, risk, effort, approval, or uncertainty

Worked example: the job behind scheduling

This example is invented for teaching. A grooming-shop owner says they want a better calendar. Reconstructing a recent staffing change reveals a more specific concern: appointments were assigned to someone who was unavailable, and the owner had to contact several customers after closing.

Dimension	Possible finding to verify
Practical	Reassign bookings without losing service details
Emotional	Finish the day confident tomorrow is manageable
Social	Keep promises to customers and staff
Current alternative	Shared calendar plus messages and manual checks
Trigger	A new staff schedule exposed conflicting bookings

These are hypotheses from one account. Verify them with additional customers and contrary cases. Another shop may prioritize accepting more appointments, while a solo operator may already be satisfied with a basic calendar.

An illustrative job statement is:

When staff availability changes, I want to rearrange upcoming appointments accurately, so the team can keep customer commitments without an evening of manual follow-up.

The statement does not establish demand for any particular software. It identifies an outcome worth testing.

Investigate the last real decision

Ask the participant to reconstruct the sequence: what changed, when they began looking, what they considered, who helped decide, and what they finally did. Include the option of continuing with the existing process.

Look for both reasons to change and reasons to stay. A new tool may promise efficiency while adding migration effort or purchase risk. Do not assume an obvious product improvement outweighs those concerns.

Separate user and buyer needs: staff may want fewer interruptions while the owner needs affordable, low-disruption implementation.

Copyable Jobs to Be Done worksheet

Copy this original worksheet for one customer situation. Add evidence before deciding what the job should be.

Field	Fill in
Customer segment and role	[Enter]
Recent situation and trigger	[Enter; date or example]
Desired practical progress	[Enter]
Emotional or social concern, if evidenced	[Enter; avoid guessing]
Current alternative, including doing nothing	[Enter]
Consequences of the present approach	[Enter; label estimates]
Barriers to switching	[Enter]
User, buyer, and other decision participants	[Enter]
Success measure and relevant time window	[Enter]
Supporting and contradictory evidence	[Enter]
Next experiment and decision date	[Enter]

Then draft: When [specific circumstance], [customer] wants to [progress], so [meaningful outcome]. Treat the wording as a summary of evidence, not a formula that creates evidence.

Turn the job into a test

For the scheduling example, a pilot might ask whether a shop can reassign a real day's appointments accurately and with less follow-up. Define the baseline, observation window, and what assistance the founder provides.

Choose a measure tied to the job: time spent, errors requiring correction, or successful completion. Record whether customers use the approach again when the situation recurs. A one-time usability success does not establish retention or willingness to pay.

Finding	Possible next move
Problem is infrequent and tolerable	Reconsider urgency or segment
Outcome matters but change feels risky	Test onboarding or migration support
Existing alternative already works well	Find a stronger difference or stop the test
Customers repeat and pay for the outcome	Investigate repeatability and economics

What investors are looking for

Explain the customer circumstance, why current alternatives fall short, what changed, and which behavior supports your claim. Connect the job to an identifiable buyer, a reachable segment, and a commercial experiment.

Show what remains uncertain and how your next test addresses it.

Common mistakes

• Writing a job statement that simply names your feature.
• Treating demographic similarities as proof of the same need.
• Inventing emotional motivations without customer evidence.
• Ignoring manual work or no change as alternatives.
• Collecting stories without choosing a measurable outcome.

Founder checklist

Identify a recent circumstance, desired progress, actual alternative, switching barriers, and success measure. Keep observations separate from interpretation. Check whether several customers share the same situation.

Your next action: complete the worksheet from one real decision, then test the most important uncertainty with another qualified customer.

Sources and further reading

• Christensen Institute: Jobs to Be Done Theory
• SparkLaunch: Ideal Customer Profile

References checked November 10, 2026. The worksheet and example are original illustrative teaching material.