An Introduction to Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) in Digital Product Design
Our approach to “user experience” is broken. By focusing on attributes instead of motivations, we risk alienating a larger market of consumers who need to get a job done.
Is UX really “all about the experience”?
The word “experience” is inherently built into our job description as user experience designers. When you think about it though, what really makes for the best experience?
Some may argue that the best experience is really no experience at all. We live in an age where every aspect of our lives is becoming more and more dependent on interactions with digital products. As a result, it’s becoming more and more important that we make those interactions as seamless, and if appropriate, as invisible as possible.
But what does that mean for designers? Although the nature of our work inherently lives within a digital space, being a designer means that we do not immediately approach a perceived need through the lens of technology. We do not solely define a solution based on the tools that currently live in this space. And we do not assert that the answer must exist on a website, an application, or a digital environment.
Rather, our motivations are much broader. We create solutions that solve problems and meet a person’s needs or wants. If appropriate, we use technology to help us get there. This basic ideology can significantly change the success of the products that we create and the services that we offer.
Enter Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD).
What is Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)?
Jobs-to-be-Done is often described as a theory or a methodology. Essentially, it’s a set of principles that can be used to define what an individual truly needs or wants to get done. It also suggests that people buy products to get “jobs” done. It was made popular by Harvard Business Professor, Clayton Christensen, but others such as Tony Ulwick and Alan Klement, are also key proponents within this space.
While many different streams of thought have emerged regarding JTBD, at its core, it’s really a frame of reference or a way of thinking. In his introduction to JTBD, Tony Ulwick described JTBD as a perspective — “a lens through which you can observe markets, customers, needs, competitors, and customer segments differently, and by doing so, make innovation far more predictable and profitable.”
So why is JTBD relevant to me as a designer?
Products come and go, but jobs are stable.
Goals have always been a powerful mechanism for humans to create better versions of themselves. So when we align our products with user goals or “jobs” and help them achieve a better version of themselves, we add immeasurable value.
As designers, this principle is especially relevant considering that the space around us is constantly in flux. All of us have likely changed our tools multiple times over the course of our careers, and there’s no question that our toolset will continue to grow exponentially as we continue. As we speak, the technologies available to us now will simply become stepping stones to new tools we have yet to experience. How do we thrive in this arena? By focusing on the actual “jobs” people are trying to get done. When we build our skills around understanding these jobs, the toolset really just becomes a means of executing our solution.
Focusing on “motivations” broadens our horizons
At some point in our careers, we’ve been asked to create user personas. Personas are essentially fictional characters that represent segments of our intended user base. In practice, these representations are meant to express the needs, goals, and expectations of a majority. Typically personas focus on attributes of an individual such as age, culture, background, lifestyle, and technology literacy. But building an experience based on these specific attributes can actually reinforce preconceptions and prejudices. The result is a product that alienates a group of people who may greatly benefit from our proposed solution.
Understanding a user is important, but in what way? JTBD suggests that user motivations are a much more inclusive metric. Instead of focusing on “what kind of individual is trying to get this job done”, it asks, “why does a user want to do this job?” When we focus on the motivations that guide an individual, we broaden our horizons significantly and avoid the risk of creating an experience influenced by these attributes alone.
The founder of Revlon cosmetics, Charles Revson understood the importance of analyzing a user’s motivations. He said concerning his products, “in the factory we produce cosmetics, in stores we sell hope.” Revson understood that success comes when we focus less on the product or even the user, but rather the job they are trying to achieve and why they want to achieve it.
How can I apply this to product design?
While theories are powerful in principle, we can only appreciate them fully in practice. So how can we actually apply this to our design process?
In an effort to build our process around the jobs users are trying to get done, the product designers at The Smyth Group have curated a series of steps from the research we’ve gathered on JTBD. Each article discusses a key principles in JTBD that can be applied to digital product design in practical ways.
- Identify Jobs Customers Are Trying to Get Done
- Identify Focus Markets
- Categorize the Jobs-to-be-Done
- Create Job Statements
- Prioritize the JTBD Opportunities
If you’re thinking about how the principles of JTBD can be applied to your next product design, you may benefit from the articles listed above.
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