Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)

JTBD reframes customer motivation: people don't buy products, they hire them to get a job done. This changes how you design and sell.

Overview

Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) is a framework developed by Clayton Christensen, Tony Ulwick, and Bob Moesta. It reframes customer motivation not around demographics or personas, but around the job a customer is trying to accomplish — the progress they're trying to make in a given situation.

The famous example: people don't buy a quarter-inch drill bit, they hire it to make a quarter-inch hole — and ultimately, to hang something on the wall, to feel capable, to make their home nicer.

The Three Types of Jobs

Functional Jobs The core practical task the customer is trying to accomplish. "I need to send an invoice to my client."

Emotional Jobs How the customer wants to feel while accomplishing the task. "I want to feel professional."

Social Jobs How the customer wants to be perceived by others. "I want my clients to see me as organized and trustworthy."

The best products serve all three, but most founders only think about functional jobs.

The Job Statement Structure

A well-formed job statement follows this pattern:

When [situation], I want to [motivation/job], so I can [outcome].

Example: "When I complete a project, I want to quickly generate a polished invoice, so I can get paid faster and feel like a professional."

Why JTBD Matters for Product Design

Understanding the job changes what you build:

• You compete against all the ways customers currently get that job done — not just direct software competitors
• Features that don't serve the core job are noise
• Messaging should speak to the desired outcome, not the product's features

Switching Triggers (The Milkshake Moment)

Christensen's milkshake research illustrated that people hired milkshakes in the morning as a commute companion — not as a dessert. The competition wasn't other shakes; it was bananas and bagels.

For your product: what is the "current hire" customers are making? And what dissatisfaction triggers them to switch?

Used in Venture OS

JTBD informs the Customer Personas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Solution Clarity steps in the Idea Book.