There are two big issues with designing or redesigning a digital product or service:
1. Conducting research well enough to get the useful data, and
2. Figuring out how to act on the data from your research.
This is where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework shines as a useful compass, guiding teams through the maze of user insights toward meaningful action.
As Bob Moesta, co-creator of the framework, emphasises, “Jobs to Be Done is this whole premise that people hire products, they don’t buy them, they hire them to make progress in their life.” Understanding this fundamental shift in perspective is crucial for transforming research into effective action that truly addresses user needs.
What Is the Jobs To Be Done Framework?
The Jobs To Be Done framework provides a structured approach to categorising and prioritising information gathered during research phases. One of the biggest misconceptions, according to Moesta, is “that it’s pain and gain as opposed to context and outcome.” The framework helps us understand not just what users want, but the specific contexts that drive them to seek out solutions and the outcomes they’re truly aiming for.
Diving Deeper: Understanding the Practical and Emotional Jobs
The Multi-Dimensional Nature of Jobs
The JTBD framework consists of three distinct categories that help organisations understand user motivations beyond surface-level preferences:
- Functional jobs: What practical tasks users need to accomplish
- Emotional jobs: How users want to feel (or avoid feeling)
- Social jobs: How users want to be perceived by others
Note: to be perfectly clear, a single action can contain all of the types of jobs listed here. The act of buying a car of a certain caliber could provide a functional job of getting from A to B, provide the emotional job of being a satisfying purchase and provide the social job of being perceived positively by peers. Additional angles into customer and user motivations provide better opportunities to design a solution that aligns with their behaviours and bank accounts.
The Depth Imperative: Going Beyond the Obvious
The power of JTBD lies in going beyond surface-level features to understand the core progress users are trying to make in their lives. Henry Ford’s famous quote illustrates this perfectly: “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have asked me for faster horses.” AKA, asking users what they want may reveal a version of
Consider the difference between:
- Shallow understanding: “Users want faster navigation in our app”
- JTBD understanding: “Users need to quickly locate key information during time-sensitive client meetings to be (and appear) knowledgeable and prepared”
The later and more specific clarification about the jobs that need to be accomplished from both a functional perspective (quick access to information) and emotional need (feeling confident and appearing competent) provides a deeper purpose behind a design choice. This also provides a more focused direction for a redesign’s time and energy.
Practical Application: From Understanding to Action
Uncovering the Real Jobs
To truly understand the jobs your users are trying to accomplish, conduct some user research. Instead of asking, “What do you want?” ask questions that are similar or adjacent to:
- What are you trying to accomplish?
- What was happening in your life that led you to look for a solution?
- What were you doing the last time you bought [product]?
- What were the reasons you bought that [product]?
Translating Jobs into Product Development
Once you’ve identified the jobs, the next step is translating these insights into product development priorities. This requires:
- Mapping jobs against your current offerings to identify gaps
- Aligning design decisions with the specific contexts and outcomes users seek
- Testing solutions against how well they help users make progress, not just how many features they include
As Moesta emphasises, “More features create actually anxiety… if I reduce friction, I actually don’t have to do anything with a product, I just have to make it easier.” This insight can dramatically shift implementation priorities from adding features to removing obstacles that stand between users and their desired progress.
Conclusion: The JTBD Mindset
The Jobs To Be Done framework is more than just a tool, its an opportunity to break down data into categories that balance the functional, emotional and social needs of the user in one space. By focusing on the progress users are trying to make rather than product features or categories, organisations can create a product experience that is more bespoke to their user base.
In the end, success comes not from having the most features or the most polished product, but from truly understanding the jobs your users are hiring your product to do, and then helping them accomplish those jobs better than any alternative.
❤️ Big thanks to Jason Goodman for the header photo via Unsplash
