As a general concept, Jobs-to-be-Done is best defined as a perspective — a lens through which you can see and think about markets, customers, needs, competitors, and customer segments in a way that makes innovation far more predictable and profitable.
The notion that people buy products and services to get a job done and that new products and services win in the marketplace if they help customers get a job done better and/or more cheaply. It is synonymous with Jobs Theory.
A statement that describes what a group of people is trying to achieve or accomplish in a given situation. A job-to-be-done could be a task that people are trying to accomplish, a goal or objective they are trying to achieve, a problem they are trying to resolve, something they are trying to avoid, or anything else they are trying to accomplish.
The people who use products and services to get a job done; the end users. When we say people buy products to get a “job” done, we are referring to the job of the job executor.
The job of the job executor. This is the job around which a market is defined.
A group of people (job executors) + the core functional job they are trying to get done. Parents (a group of people) who are trying to pass on life lessons to their children (the job-to-be-done) constitute a market. Dental hygienists who clean patients’ teeth and farmers who grow a crop also constitute markets. A market is defined around the one job that everybody in the market has in common – the core functional job.
The thing that you study; the focus of your customer discovery research. When applying ODI, instead of studying customer behavior or analyzing the buying process, innovators are encouraged to study the “job” that people are trying to get done in the markets they choose to serve.
A market that is closely related to a core market in one of two ways: an adjacent market can include a new job for a group of people already being targeted or can include a new job executor for a job that is already being addressed.
A new job that a new group of people wants to get done. New markets can emerge, for example, when there are changes in government policy, scientific discoveries, and to support the introduction of new technologies.
The process of deciding what groups of people and jobs-to-be-done to target to create new revenue streams.
The set of financial, strategic, and other criteria that a company uses to evaluate the attractiveness of markets they are considering for pursuit, such as the number of job executors, frequency of job execution, etc.
The collective set of companies who offer any solution that helps customers get a specific job done—not just solutions like yours.
The three key external stakeholders who play a role in the market, i.e., the job executor, product lifecycle support team, and purchase decision maker.
All the external and internal stakeholders who play a role in the market. In addition to the job executor, product lifecycle support team, and purchase decision maker, the ecosystem can include suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, regulators, payers, and others who may impact a company’s success in the marketplace.
The process of devising a product or service concept that addresses the customer’s unmet needs. The goal of the innovation process is to conceptualize a solution that enables customers to get a job done better and/or more cheaply.
An inherently flawed, iterative approach to innovation that starts with the generation of ideas—before all the customer’s needs are well understood. This ineffective approach to innovation encourages failing fast, iteration, pivoting, and guesswork.
An approach to innovation in which companies first uncover the customer’s needs, then determine which are unmet, and then devise solutions to address those unmet needs.
A constituent for whom the company chooses to create value. Key customers include the end user (the functional job executor), the purchase decision maker (the buyer), and the product lifecycle support team (the people who install, maintain, and repair the offering).
This is a person who ultimately uses the product or service to execute the functional job the product is intended to perform. Also called the job executor.
People (customers) who help install, set up, store, transport, maintain, repair, clean, upgrade, and dispose of the product, and perform other product lifecycle support services as necessary.
The person responsible for executing the “buying” job: using financial criteria to evaluate alternative offerings and deciding which to buy.
The underlying process an end user is trying to get done in a given situation, and the focal point around which a market is defined. Same as core job-to-be-done.
Statements that describe the way customers want to be perceived or feel when executing a core functional job. Social jobs are included in this categorization.
Functional jobs the end user is trying to get done in conjunction with the core functional job. Getting more jobs done on a single platform makes the platform more valuable.
The jobs that the product lifecycle support team must get done throughout the product lifecycle. These jobs include installation, set up, storing, transporting, maintaining, repairing, cleaning, upgrading, and disposing of the product.
The job the purchase decision maker is trying to get done when approving the acquisition of a product or service.
A statement that instructs innovators how to help people get a job done better. Synonymous with desired outcome.
A complete set of statements that instruct innovators on all the ways they can help people get a job done better. Synonymous with desired outcomes.
A specially constructed statement that instructs innovators how to help people get a job done better. For example, when preparing a meal, people are trying to “minimize the likelihood of overcooking the food.” A desired outcome statement, when stated in the prescribed manner, instructs innovators how to help people get a job done faster, without any surprises, or imperfections. Synonymous with customer need.
A complete set of specially structured need statements (often totaling 75 or more) that instruct innovators on all the ways they can help people get a job done better. The statements, when stated in the prescribed manner, are measurable, actionable, solution independent, and stable over time. They are also the metrics customers use to judge the value of future product offerings. Synonymous with customer needs.
The financial metrics that the purchase decision maker uses to decide what product or service to purchase.
A visual depiction of a functional job, deconstructed into its discreet job steps. Unlike a process map, a job map does not show what the customer is doing (a solution-based view); rather, it describes what the customer is trying to get done (a needs-based view).
One of many steps in a functional, related, or consumption chain job. A Job Map is comprised of multiple job steps—typically between 8 and 20.
Market research methods that are used to define the customer’s job-to-be-done, build a Job Map, and uncover customer desired outcomes as detailed in the Jobs-to-be-Done Needs Framework.
An unmet customer desired outcome; an unmet need.
An outcome that is very or extremely important to customers and poorly satisfied with currently available solutions. An underserved outcome represents an opportunity to get a job done better.
An outcome that is unimportant to customers and very or extremely satisfied with currently available solutions. An overserved outcome represents an opportunity to get a job done more cheaply.
An outcome that is very important to customers and very well satisfied with currently available solutions. A table stake outcome must be satisfied equally as well with a future solution.
The formula used to determine the degree to which a specific outcome or related or emotional job is under or overserved. The formula is: opportunity = importance + max (importance — satisfaction, 0). Importance is calculated as the percent of people (in a statistically representative population) rating an outcome very or extremely important. Satisfaction is calculated as the percentage of people rating the outcome as very or extremely satisfied.
The output of the Opportunity Algorithm for a specific outcome statement. The score, which is on a scale of 0 – 20, indicates the degree to which an outcome is underserved, overserved, or appropriately served.
A visual depiction of the quantified opportunities that exist in a market. It also shows the degree to which each customer desired outcome is under-or overserved.
A need that is either underserved and represents an opportunity to get a job done better, or overserved and represents an opportunity to get a job done more cheaply. Synonymous with opportunity.
Market research methods used to gather the statistically valid data needed to conduct Outcome-Based Segmentation analysis and other data analyses that comprise the ODI process.
The process of discovering a group of customers who have a unique set of under or overserved desired outcomes.
A method of market segmentation that uses the customer’s desired unmet outcomes as the bases for segmenting markets. It enables companies to discover segments of customers with uniquely different unmet outcomes and to size and target segments for market entry.
A group of people who have a unique set of unmet needs, i.e., underserved or overserved desired outcomes. They often struggle in a unique way to get the job done because they execute the job in a unique situation or circumstance.
A narrative that describes (1) the situation or circumstances a job executor is facing, (2) the functional job and emotional jobs they are trying to get done in that situation, and (3) the underserved and overserved desired outcomes associated with the functional job. It is synonymous with the term outcome-based persona.
A segment of customers with many desired outcomes that are unimportant and well-satisfied.
A segment of customers with many desired outcomes that are very important and poorly satisfied.
The careful consideration and selection of which outcome-based segments to target for growth, which unmet outcomes to target within and across those segments, and the order in which they should be addressed over time. It is a plan that puts a company on the most efficient path to growth.
A framework that illustrates the types of strategies that can be deployed depending on whether customers are trying to get a job done better and/or more cheaply. Five strategies are described, i.e., differentiated, dominant, disruptive, discreet, and sustaining strategies.
A company pursues a differentiated strategy when it discovers and targets a population of underserved consumers with a new product or service offering that gets a job (or multiple jobs) done significantly better, but at a significantly higher price.
A company pursues a dominant strategy when it targets all consumers in a market with a new product or service offering that gets a job done significantly better and for significantly less money.
A company pursues a disruptive strategy when it discovers and targets a population of overserved customers or nonconsumers with a new product or service offering that enables them to get a job done more cheaply, but not as well as competing solutions.
A company pursues a discrete strategy when it targets a population of customers who are in a situation where their options are limited and are willing to pay more for a product that gets the job done worse.
A company pursues a sustaining strategy when it introduces a new product or service offering that gets the job done only slightly better and/or slightly cheaper.
The introduction of a series of products, the first of which employs a disruptive strategy that gets the job done worse and more cheaply, followed by a series of products that build on that technology platform, with more and more features, until the newest offerings get the job done better and more cheaply.
The introduction of a series of products, the first of which employs a differentiated strategy that gets the job done better and at a higher price point, followed by a series of products that come out at a lower price point, until the newest offerings get the job done more cheaply and better.
A plan that a company devises to achieve and maintain a unique and valued competitive position in a market. A growth strategy includes a product and marketing strategy (value proposition) that is based on the innovation strategy insights.
The process of conceptualizing new platforms, business models, and features that address underserved segments and desired outcomes discovered using ODI-based research methods.
A set of creativity triggers created by Strategyn that provide innovators with possible ways to address underserved unmet desired outcomes.
The system into which product features are integrated and the glue that holds those features in place. The platform includes the subsystems that enable the customer to get the job done and the infrastructure that enables the subsystems to work together.
A piece of functionality that allows customers to better execute a job or satisfy a desired outcome. A feature is added to a product platform.
The mental process by which an idea is triggered and conceived.
An output of the creative process that defines a way in which specific unmet customer needs can be satisfied.
The process of generating ideas to address unmet customer needs.