Product and strategy
Jobs to be done canvas
Also called JTBD canvas, Job map
Describe the job a customer is trying to get done, the stages they go through, and the outcomes they use to judge whether it went well.
- Time60 to 90 minutes
- People2 to 8 people
- Steps4
What it's for
People don't buy products; they hire them to make progress on a job. This canvas starts from the job instead of the product: who is doing it, what they're trying to get done, the stages they go through, and how they judge success at each stage. Solutions come later, once the job is clear.
Write the main job as a verb, an object and a context, such as 'plan a family trip abroad'. It should hold true over the years and whichever product people use.
How to run it
Name the performer and the job10 min
Who is doing the job, and the job itself as a verb, an object and a context.
Walk the job map20 min
What happens at each of the eight stages, from defining what's needed to wrapping up. Skip any that don't apply.
Write the outcomes15 min
How they judge each stage: 'minimise the time it takes to…', 'avoid…'.
Add the human side10 min
How they want to feel and be seen, and the other jobs around this one.
Tips
- Leave the product out of the job. 'Listen to music while running' is a job; 'use our app' isn't.
- Outcomes are what people use to compare solutions, so they make good survey questions later.
Where it comes from
The idea of a job to be done comes from Clayton Christensen's work on innovation and Tony Ulwick's outcome-driven innovation. The eight-stage job map is from Lance Bettencourt and Ulwick's The Customer-Centered Innovation Map, in the Harvard Business Review (2008).
Pairs well with
Opportunity scoring
Rate each customer outcome for importance and satisfaction, then look for the ones that matter a lot and are served badly.
Four forces of progress
Map what pushes customers away from today's solution, pulls them to a new one, and the anxiety and habit that hold them back.
Value proposition canvas
Map a customer's jobs, pains and gains beside your product's pain relievers and gain creators, to check that the two really fit.