jobs-to-be-done_skill

Overview

This skill helps teams uncover the real progress customers are hiring a product to make using Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) theory. It reframes feature, research, and strategy work around customer contexts, motivations, and outcomes. Use it to reveal surprising competitors and to write clearer job-focused requirements.

How this skill works

The skill guides you to interview users about specific past events, craft job statements, and map forces that drive switching (push, pull, anxiety, habits). It identifies functional, emotional, and social job dimensions and surfaces true competitors—anything hired for the same job. Outputs include a concise JTBD analysis template you can apply to products, features, or market segments.

When to use it

• Defining product strategy and positioning
• Conducting customer research interviews or discovery sessions
• Writing user stories and acceptance criteria
• Identifying non-obvious competitors and substitutes
• Reframing features to focus on customer progress

Best practices

• Always ask about a specific recent instance of use, not hypotheticals
• Write job statements in the When/I want/So I can format
• Map push, pull, anxieties, and habits to diagnose why customers switch
• Capture functional, emotional, and social aspects for a complete view
• Look for workarounds and non-consumption as innovation opportunities

Example use cases

• Discover why users choose a competing workflow and redesign onboarding to reduce anxiety
• Create user stories tied to a measurable outcome rather than a feature checklist
• Identify new competitors (e.g., a book or ritual competing with an app) and adjust positioning
• Segment users by the job they hire the product to do, not demographics
• Prioritize roadmap items that close high-impact gaps in the job map