You’ve spent months developing a product and thousands of dollars on research, but your target customers don’t use it when it hits the market. Why? Too often, there’s a misalignment between your product and what your customers truly want.
It’s time to stop guessing and start understanding what your customers want. Try the jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework. This powerful approach flips the script, allowing you to innovate by focusing on what customers need to achieve.
By identifying the specific jobs your customers are hiring your product to do, you can develop offerings that meet and exceed expectations.
In this blog, we share the step-by-step process for applying the JTBD framework, along with examples and templates. Let’s ensure that your next product launch or feature update hits the mark and delivers real value to your customers.
How to Implement JTBD Framework (with Examples)
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe JTBD Framework: What is it?
The jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework is a theoretical model you use to understand why and how customers purchase a product or adopt it in their workflow. It shifts the focus from the product to the customers’ needs and problems that your product solves. You can use the framework to devise strategies to boost product adoption.
The core idea is that customers “hire” your products to perform a specific job. Once you understand this core functional job, you can build products, processes, and solutions that align better with your customers.
Principles of JTBD framework
- Customer-centric approach: Study customer data and prioritize customer needs over product features
- Job, not the product: The focus should be on the customer’s needs, followed by creating products that align with the job
- Functional, emotional, and social dimensions: Customer jobs have multiple dimensions, including functional aspects to improve productivity and organization, emotional needs, and social considerations. Address all these aspects to create a holistic solution
- Outcome-driven innovation: Innovate solutions based on desired outcomes for your target audience rather than existing products or technologies in the market
Understanding job statements in JTBD
In the JTBD system, job statements articulate the specific tasks customers are trying to accomplish. These statements are typically structured as follows:
Template: When [situation], I want to [job], so I can [desired outcome]
Example: “When I commute to work, I want to listen to audiobooks to use my time productively.”
The JTBD deliverables and goals for desired outcomes
The JTBD deliverable is a comprehensive document that outlines the jobs customers are trying to accomplish. It contains their desired outcomes and the criteria for success. This document serves as a guide to building a product development process, as well as a marketing and customer engagement guide.
The jobs-to-be-done framework gives your team a deeper understanding of why your customers buy your products or services and how to make them better.
To implement this framework quickly, consider using ClickUp’s Project Deliverables Template, which automates the creation of JTBD deliverables. It’s a fully customizable template that allows you to add project information, development stage, and cost. You can also add team members so everyone is aligned on the scope of work.
Use this template to:
- Create thorough and well-defined project phases and milestones
- Ensure the project stays on schedule and within budget with the right planning
- Define roles and responsibilities, assign tasks to team members, and track them to successful completion
- Communicate with all stakeholders to bring everyone on the same page throughout the project lifecycle
Roles and events in the JTBD framework
Roles and events are crucial components of the jobs-to-be-done framework.
Roles refer to different product users or stakeholders involved in the decision-making process about buying and using a specific product. These roles can vary depending on the context.
Let’s take an example of roles involved in the ClickUp project management use case. In this scenario, there are three roles involved:
| Decision maker | Primary user | Secondary user |
| The CTO | The project managers | Team members |
| The decision maker who decided to purchase ClickUp for the organization | They create project plans, assign tasks, and check progress in ClickUp | Their daily tasks are updated on ClickUp |
Events are triggers or solutions that create the need for a product or service. These events dictate the urgency and nature of the job to be done.
Here’s an example of various events in the JTBD framework:
| Routine activities | Unexpected occurrences | Life events |
| A monthly product check-in report that needs a robust product management tool | An old product management tool doesn’t scale anymore | A company merger triggers a need for a new product management tool that both companies can work on |
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe JTBD Framework Guide with Examples and Templates
Here’s how you build the JTBD framework for your organization using various templates:
Templates using the jobs theory
Template to create a job statement
When [situation], I want to [job], so I can [desired outcome].
For example:
- When I manage multiple projects, I want to have a centralized dashboard so I can monitor progress and allocate resources more efficiently
- When my team collaborates on a project, I want to track real-time updates so I can ensure everyone is aligned and deadlines are met
Template to create a job map
Let’s say you’re a product manager who wants to launch a new feature
Step 1: Define the job. For example, launch an automation feature.
Step 2: Break down the job into steps and desired outcomes:
- Assess customer needs
- Research various existing tools in the market
- Plan the development timeline
- Create product management goals for the whole team
- Plan the product launch strategy
Step 3: Identify desired outcomes for each step.
For example:
- Understand the most common and time-consuming tasks customers want to automate
- Identify key differentiators that will make your automation feature stand out from competitors
- Ensure the feature is developed, tested, and ready for launch within the agreed timeframe without compromising on quality
- Align the team around shared goals, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities and the project stays on track
- Achieve a successful launch with high adoption rates by effectively communicating the feature’s benefits to existing and potential customers
Template to create outcome statements
To [achieve a specific goal], [specific user group] needs to [perform an action or task] so that they can [accomplish a desired outcome].
For example:
- To increase lead conversion rates, the sales teams need to measure the percentage of leads converted into customers
- To minimize customer wait times, the customer support teams need to maximize the accuracy of support responses for technical issues
- When onboarding new clients, I want to automate the data entry process so I can reduce administrative time and focus on client relations
Examples of the JTBD in action
Marketing strategy development
| Scenario | Launching a B2B SaaS product |
| Application | Use the JTBD framework to identify the critical job your product solves for business clients. Rather than just listing features, focus on how your product directly addresses specific challenges they face. |
| Example | Job: Business teams must “coordinate projects across remote teams effectively.” Action: Highlight how your SaaS product offers seamless integrations with existing tools and features like real-time collaboration, directly solving the job of “ensuring remote teams stay aligned and productive.” |
Product development
| Scenario | Improving a CRM system |
| Application | Using the JTBD framework, identify gaps in current CRM functionalities that prevent sales teams from closing deals efficiently. Develop features that directly address these pain points. |
| Example | Job: Sales teams need to “prioritize high-quality leads quickly.” Action: Introduce an AI-powered lead-scoring feature that automatically ranks leads based on their conversion likelihood. This will help the sales team “focus efforts on the most promising leads to increase conversion rates.” |
Customer experience improvement
| Scenario | Enhancing client support services |
| Application | Apply the JTBD framework to understand what clients are trying to achieve when they contact support. This typically involves resolving issues quickly and without hassle. |
| Example | Job: Clients must “resolve technical issues immediately without waiting for support staff.” Action: Implement a self-service portal with AI-driven FAQs and troubleshooting guides, allowing clients to solve common issues independently. |
Service design
| Scenario | Designing a corporate training program |
| Application | Use the JTBD framework to customize the training service to meet the specific learning objectives of corporate clients. For example, efficiently upskilling employees while minimizing disruptions to their daily tasks. |
| Example | Job: Companies must “upskill employees without taking them away from their daily responsibilities.” Action: Develop an on-demand training platform that employees can access anytime. This allows them to learn at their own pace. |
Summarize this article for me pleaseApplying the Jobs-to-be-Done Framework
Step-by-step process of applying the jobs-to-be-done framework:
1. Identify jobs users want to accomplish
Understand the core tasks or pain points customers are trying to solve with your product or alternative solutions.
How to do it:
- Customer interviews: Conduct in-depth user interviews to uncover customer needs and pain points
- Observation: Observe users in real-world situations to see how they interact with products and what challenges they face
- Surveys: Use surveys to gather broad data on user behaviors and needs, customer satisfaction index, focusing on the tasks they are trying to accomplish
Example: A software company’s product team uses customer data to discover that its users primarily try to “automate repetitive tasks” to free up time for more strategic work.
2. Analyze each JTBD
Break down the identified jobs into their core components to understand the context, emotions, and functional needs behind them.
How to do it:
- Segment by context: Understand when and why users need to perform the job (e.g., under what circumstances do they need to automate tasks?)
- Identify functional, emotional, and social aspects: Analyze the job from different perspectives to capture all dimensions (e.g., what functional needs does the task fulfill? How does it make the user feel?)
Example: The company identifies that users must automate tasks during peak work hours to reduce stress (emotional need) and improve productivity (functional need).
3. List desired outcomes from JTBD
Clearly define the outcomes users expect when performing the job, both in terms of success and satisfaction.
How to do it:
- Desired outcome statements: Write outcome statements that specify what users want to achieve (e.g., “Minimize the time spent on repetitive tasks while maximizing accuracy”)
- Prioritize outcomes: Rank these outcomes by importance and satisfaction to focus on the most critical needs
Example: Users want to “reduce task completion time by 50%” while “ensuring zero errors in automated processes.”
4. Write a JTBD statement
Compile your findings into a concise JTBD statement that captures the essence of the job, including the circumstances and desired outcomes.
How to do it:
- JTBD statement template: Use a template like “When [situation], I want to [job], so I can [desired outcome].”
- Incorporate context: Make sure the statement reflects the specific context in which the need arises
Example: When facing a heavy workload, I want to automate routine data entry tasks so that I can focus on strategic analysis and meet deadlines with less stress.
When applying the JTBD framework, working with relatable user stories can help your team connect better with your ideal customer persona. To enable this, create user stories and capture end-user requirements better using ClickUp’s User Story Template.
Use the template to:
- Write, manage, and track user stories
- Break them into smaller tasks and prioritize based on the importance
- Monitor the progress of each task and identify potential issues
Summarize this article for me pleaseRole of Project Managers and Strategy Managers
Whether you’re managing a project or defining a strategy, you’ve probably been asked to help set up a jobs-to-be-done framework at some point in your career. In such scenarios, consider using get-things-done (GTD) apps to create JTBD strategies that boost productivity and organization.
One of the best GTD software widely used by project managers is ClickUp. It is an all-in-one productivity platform designed to help manage projects and workflows efficiently.
How to Use ClickUp to Create JTBD Frameworks
To implement the jobs-to-be-done framework, you can leverage specific ClickUp templates to track and monitor customer needs and pinpoint actions they’re trying to accomplish with your product/service.
Getting Things Done Framework Template
The Getting Things Done (GTD) Framework Template in ClickUp is a fully customizable, ready-to-use template for efficiently capturing and sorting tasks. This template helps you manage and organize tasks related to identifying jobs to be done and revising existing solutions.
Key features of this template include:
- Customizable statuses: Track the progress of each task with six custom statuses
- Views: Manage and visualize tasks with List, Doc, and Whiteboard views
- Folders: Organize tasks into folders for better categorization and management
The GTD template is particularly useful for breaking down complex JTBD tasks into manageable actions. It helps you clearly define and execute each step so your team members can perform their tasks efficiently.
💡 Pro Tip: Here are some additional GTD templates to help you plan and operate more efficiently. Whether you’re a GTD practitioner or new to this method, these templates bring a sense of clarity and control to your daily workflow.
Project Management Framework Template
ClickUp’s Project Management Framework Template provides a structured approach to planning, executing, and monitoring projects.
This template includes:
- A Framework View to help you build and manage a high-level overview
- Whiteboard and Doc views to help visualize and plan your workflow
- Advanced features like tagging, nested subtasks, and priority labels to add more context to tasks
This template is ideal for project managers to overview the implementation of JTBD frameworks in their organization. It provides a bird’s-eye view of all tasks and ensures that every aspect of the project is planned and tracked meticulously.
Benefits of using ClickUp templates for jobs-to-be-done framework
- Efficiency: Streamlines organizing and managing JTBD tasks so you can quickly start the actual work
- Collaboration: Enhances team collaboration through shared workspaces, comments, and real-time updates
- Customization: Fully customizable templates allow you to tailor the framework to your specific needs
- Visualization: Different views and dashboards help visualize the progress and status of JTBD tasks and projects
Using GTD templates to apply JTBD frameworks for various departments
| Department | Template Use Case |
| Marketing Strategy | Use the GTD Template to capture market research tasks, organize campaign steps, and track progress toward understanding customer jobs. |
| Product Development | Utilize the Project Management Framework Template to plan and manage product development projects, ensuring that features align with customer needs. |
| Customer Support | Implement the GTD Template to manage customer support tasks and resolve customer issues quickly. |
| Operations | Apply the Project Management Framework Template to streamline operational processes, track efficiency metrics, and implement improvements based on JTBD insights. |
Summarize this article for me pleaseImplement the JTBD Framework with ClickUp
The jobs-to-be-done framework is a powerful way to understand your customer segments’ true needs. By identifying jobs that your customers want to achieve, you can design products and solutions that better resonate with your customers.
However, building this framework manually can take hours and distract you from the actual project. Use ClickUp’s GTD templates to create a JTBD framework. ClickUp has powerful tools for task management, collaboration, and automation, making it easier for you to align your projects with your customers’ jobs to be done.
Sign up on ClickUp today and start building your JTBD framework.
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