Helpful Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) Articles
The famous Clayton Christensen developed the framework called Jobs to Be Done (JTBD). It has helped product managers for generations as they think about how to solve user problems.
Thinking about the jobs users need to do can help you level-up your product sense case interviews.
Many people find this framework exceedingly helpful when thinking about users for product case questions. In fact it’s so important Facebook that a leader at Facebook share these thoughts on how she leverages it to drive innovation.
A product person thinks about a business in terms of what is a job to be done that’s not currently being sold by other products I’ll build that.
The argument is people pay with either time or money, IF your product solves their pain. (If they pay in time/attention, you can sell ads in your ecosystem.)
I find JTBD a very helpful framework for people who are struggling to understand the difference between stakeholders and users and how to think about them.
Example:
So for example, if I give you the prompt “You are a CEO at a start up in the EV space. What would you build?”
After working through your clarifying questions and your strategic set up, you’re gonna be focused on users and the job they hire that EV to do for them.
In the case of the EV, maybe I want it to take me to from point A to point B without me having to pay attention. Or I want you to take me from point a to point B without harming the environment. Or I want to have you take me from point a to point B safely. Period.
My approach to the JTBD is different based on factors unique to me. Typically it is more about motivation and mission than demographic.
For example:
Passion: I am passionate about driving or don’t care
Planner: I am a planner and need all trips to be perfect and on time
Event-Based View: Commutes, Errands, Vacations
There are many ways of thinking about what/how a user might perceive getting the job done differently.
Boiling it down to the problem being all around the same JTBD you can quickly prove your focus on the user to your interviewer.
Articles of Inspiration: