Definition
Jobs to be done (JTBD) is a way of understanding why people choose products: they "hire" a product to get a job done in a particular situation. Someone doesn't want a drill; they want a hole, or a shelf on the wall.
How it helps
- Competition: you compete with anything that does the same job, including spreadsheets and doing nothing.
- Positioning: describe the outcome, not the feature list.
- Roadmap: prioritise what helps people finish the job faster or more reliably.
Connecting it to data
Interviews reveal the job; product data shows how well you serve it. Define the event that marks "job done" for each job and measure how many users reach it and how quickly.