Using a ‘Jobs to Be Done’ framework for your product design research can unlock strategic insights and opportunities for innovation. Here’s how.
Years ago, Intuit – makers of accounting software – discovered a strange pattern in their product sales. Turns out small businesses were buying and using the company’s personal accounting software instead of choosing a more sophisticated business accounting package.
In response to this finding, the company decided to expand its research into customer purchase behavior. What they learned came as a surprise: small business owners didn’t need – or even want – the capabilities found in feature-rich accounting programs. In fact, they generally preferred a simpler solution that didn’t require in-depth accounting know-how.
This insight emerged through research that used a Jobs to Be Done Framework. And by understanding this, Intuit was able to hone its product approach for small businesses.
The company created a simplified solution – QuickBooks – that met business owners’ need to run their business effectively with very little accounting expertise. QuickBooks became a wildly successful product, and small business owners who wanted its simplicity were more than happy to pay twice the price for half the functionality of Intuit’s competitors.
Ultimately, the Jobs to Be Done approach prompts product teams to dig into the root causes of customer behavior – which leads to products and services that better respond to user needs. Here’s how it can work for you.
BUT FIRST, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE JOBS TO BE DONE FRAMEWORK?
Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD, Jobs Theory, or Jobs) is an approach to understanding customers, and designing products and services for them, that enables organizations to discover and describe why customers choose one product or service over another. It’s based on the premise that people buy or use solutions as a means of getting a bigger “job” done, or accomplishing something at a higher level.
User research often focuses on the usability of existing products and services, looking at features, functionality and pain points. But more strategic research allows you to uncover customers’ core motivations, usage contexts, expectations and unmet needs, and this can lead to new ideas for innovation. A Jobs to Be Done Framework essentially becomes a bridge between customer research and product requirements, and aligns your team around what your customers are really trying to accomplish.
Many companies focus on getting to know their customers by way of personas. But these don't generally give them any deeper contextual information about what drives customers to purchase one product or service over another.
Conversely, the Jobs to Be Done Framework is part of a human-centred approach to design that helps companies frame their research in a way that delivers a deeper understanding of their customers’ goals in a way that helps product teams solve the right problems or look at the problem space in a different way. (We dug into the details in depth in our five-part Jobs to Be Done series).
JOBS TO BE DONE FRAMEWORK CAN BE A STRATEGIC DRIVER OF INNOVATION
Innovation is integral to business success. And a Jobs to Be Done Framework can be a useful tool to guide innovation strategy by framing problems and solutions in ways that uncover unrealized needs and open up new possibilities, while grounding them in solid research.
If you are a product manager for, say, Honda, which makes outdoor yard products including lawn mowers, you are likely very attuned to the types of lawn mowers on the market and the models and features offered by your competitors. Your competitive strategy, product pricing, and positioning is likely to be a reflection of the market for lawn mowers.
However, the Jobs to Be Done Framework suggests that for customers, mowing the lawn is simply a means to an end (having a landscaped home exterior). Most homeowners don’t actually want to mow their lawn – they simply want the result that a mowed lawn gives them. So a features-based approach to product design and marketing may not be all that effective.
By taking a broader view of the solutions available to customers and the motivations that drive them, you might identify and explore new opportunities to meet customer needs.
And that’s just what Honda did. Realizing that many homeowners didn’t want to mow their lawns at all, the company released its first robotic lawn mower, Miimo, to the US market in 2017. Coming in at a cost of $2,500 USD, the Miimo is by no means a low-cost solution; however, it is a game changer. It almost completely removes the need for human involvement.
From a Jobs to Be Done Framework perspective, Honda isn’t selling customers a robotic lawn mower: they’re selling freedom. By untethering the human from the task, Honda gives the gift of time back to homeowners, allowing them to solve the challenge of keeping the lawn looking great.
One client we worked with was able to shift the conversation from centering on a simple IT problem (how to manage mailbox data when employees leave the organization) toward the broader issue of better records management, which was at the heart of the customer’s Job to Be Done. Using this structured lens for product innovation and development, the client was able to tap into specific drivers and core needs as they refined their product and service, and the communications and processes around it.
THE JOBS TO BE DONE FRAMEWORK OFFERS INVALUABLE INSIGHTS THAT DRIVE PRODUCT AND COMPANY SUCCESS
One of the principles of the Jobs to Be Done Framework is that success in business comes from integrating customer jobs into the design process – and then using them as a metric for success. Companies can develop KPIs that better measure product success by aligning business goals with customer’s desired outcomes.
Amazon, for example, defines its success not by when items have been added to a cart, sold, or even shipped, but by when they have been delivered successfully to the customer. This definition of success is reflected throughout the shopping experience: customers see the estimated delivery date even before they add the item to their cart. And Amazon’s internal processes are geared toward ensuring this outcome is achieved.
Amazon does this because they understand the uncertainty of online purchasing – especially when an item is needed by a certain date. Reducing or eliminating uncertainty fulfills the customer job better than other online retailers, and thus leads to greater success for the company.
When we work with clients on strategic design projects, we employ a robust research toolkit that includes the Jobs to Be Done framework in conjunction with persona development and a strong sense of desired success metrics. One client we worked with used their JTBD outcomes to qualify new customer groups and understand what they were looking for, in order to validate new product features, get executive buy-in and inform product strategy.
Ultimately, using a Jobs to Be Done Framework during the discovery and design process helps to ensure that months and even years of diligent labor pay off: you launch your product or service and it not only resonates with the market you’ve intended it for, but can exceed their expectations.
Interested in learning more about how to apply the Jobs to Be Done Framework to your design process? We’d be delighted to help. Get in touch today. You can also dig deeper into Jobs Theory here.
