Jobs To Be Done
What progress is someone trying to make, and where does friction stop them?
You don't invent demand. You discover it by watching what people do, not what they say. The gap between their current situation and their desired outcome — that's the job. The friction in that gap — that's your opportunity.
The Framework
| Question | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| What are they struggling with? | The job |
| What are they using now instead? | The competition (always something) |
| What would make them switch? | The trigger |
| What almost stops them? | The hidden objection |
| What does progress look like to them? | The outcome you're selling |
People don't buy products. They hire solutions to make progress. Understand the job, and the product designs itself.
Dig Deeper
📄️ Interviews
You understand the job when you can tell the pain-to-progress story better than the person living it.
📄️ Production
What is the most effective method for building valuable software?
📄️ Validate Demand
Does anyone actually want this, or are you building for an audience of one?
The Pattern
Jobs x Attributes. One row per job. Columns are what you need to know.
This pattern applies everywhere:
- Marketing Protocols — 25 marketing jobs mapped
- Work Charts — Human/AI capability per job
- Business Development — From job discovery to venture creation
Context
- Validate Demand — Awareness levels and intent signals
- Interview Practices — Extract the real job from real people
- Behavioural Economics — Why people do what they do
- Advertising Industry — JTBD applied to SME vs enterprise buyer jobs
- Business Ideas — Forces, friction, opportunity discovery
- Problems — Where friction lives