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Frameworks - 8 min read

Jobs To Be Done, Explained Without The Jargon

Jobs To Be Done is a lens for understanding why customers hire a product. Here is how to use it in interviews, positioning, and roadmaps.

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Workshopping.ai Editorial Team

Editorial

Updated

Jobs To Be Done reframes customers as people 'hiring' a product to make progress in their lives. It is less about features and more about progress.

Jobs, not personas

Personas describe who. Jobs describe what they are trying to accomplish and the circumstance they are in. A single person hires different products for different jobs.

Switch interviews

Interview customers who recently switched to or from your product. Map the forces of progress, anxiety, habit, and pull. The patterns are gold for positioning.

Apply it to the roadmap

Prioritize features by how much they help customers complete the job better, faster, or cheaper than alternatives.

Key takeaways

  • -Customers hire products to make progress
  • -Switch interviews reveal the real job
  • -Roadmaps should serve jobs, not personas

Frequently asked questions

Is JTBD compatible with personas?
Yes. Use personas for marketing reach and JTBD for product decisions.

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