Key Principle
A Job to Be Done is "the progress that an individual seeks in a given circumstance" (Ch. 2). Five defining features make a job valid:
- Circumstance-bound: Who, when, where, while doing what. Without circumstance, you have a need or a guiding principle, neither of which is specific enough to design for. "Needs are analogous to trends -- directionally useful, but totally insufficient for defining exactly what will cause a customer to choose one product or service over another" (Ch. 2).
- Three-dimensional: Every job integrates functional, social, and emotional layers. "Consumers' social and emotional needs can far outweigh any functional desires" (Ch. 2).
- Discovered, not created: "Jobs themselves are enduring and persistent, but the way we solve them can change dramatically over time" (Ch. 2). Sharing information across distances: Pony Express to email. The job is the stable unit; solutions are ephemeral.
- Competition-redefining: The competitive set is determined by the job, not the product category. Netflix competes with wine; Facebook competes with cigarettes. "If you don't know what you're really competing with, how could you ever hope to create something that consumers will choose to hire?" (Ch. 2).
- Passes two boundary tests (Ch. 10):
- Adjective/Adverb Test: A valid job is expressed in verbs and nouns, not adjectives. "Convenience" is an experience attribute, not a job.
- Product Category Test: If every candidate solution comes from the same product class, you are at the wrong level of abstraction. "If the architecture of the system or product can only be met by products within the same product class, the concept of the Job to Be Done does not apply" (Ch. 10).
Why This Matters
Jobs defined too broadly become mission statements -- aspirational but unable to resolve daily tradeoffs. Unilever's mission "to help children in emerging markets live to age five" was too broad to act on, until the team identified the specific job: children need to kill germs but only wash for seven seconds. That specificity produced color-changing soap (Ch. 9).
Jobs defined too narrowly become product specifications. "I need a thin sheet of material to wrap around a house with high friction, low thermal conduction, and high toughness" only admits Tyvek. The actual job -- "I want my family to feel warm in winter and cool in summer while minimizing costs" -- opens the solution space to insulation, dehumidifiers, fans, or moving to San Francisco (Ch. 10).
The right level of abstraction is where circumstance is specific enough to design for, but the solution space spans multiple product categories.
Good Examples
- Morning milkshake: "I need something to keep me occupied while driving and fill me up before a 10 a.m. meeting." Bananas, doughnuts, bagels, coffee, and milkshakes could all be hired. The circumstance (long commute, empty stomach, boredom) is what makes this a valid job rather than a product preference (Ch. 2, Ch. 10).
- SNHU adult learner: Adults averaging age 30, juggling work and family, carrying unfinished-degree debt. Their job was convenience, customer service, credentials, and speedy completion. The competition was not other schools -- it was doing nothing at all (Ch. 3).
- Bob Moesta's condos: Downsizers were not in the market for "new home construction." They were hiring help to "move lives" -- including the emotional weight of abandoning a dining room table covered in decades of memories (Ch. 4).
Counterpoints
- Adjective job: "Customers want convenience" is not a job. It describes a quality of the experience but provides no circumstance, no struggle, and no way to determine what to build or what to cut.
- Category-locked job: "I need a chocolate milkshake in a twelve-ounce container" is a product preference, not a job. Every candidate solution is a milkshake. The product category test fails immediately (Ch. 10).
- The Segway trap: Conceived around "more efficient personal transportation" without any circumstance. "But whose need? When? Why? In what circumstances?" The product answered a question nobody was asking in their actual life (Ch. 2).
Key Quotes
"A job is the progress that an individual seeks in a given circumstance." (Ch. 2)
"Needs are analogous to trends -- directionally useful, but totally insufficient for defining exactly what will cause a customer to choose one product or service over another." (Ch. 2)
"If the architecture of the system or product can only be met by products within the same product class, the concept of the Job to Be Done does not apply." (Ch. 10)
"School is not a job that children are trying to do. The job is that children need to feel successful -- every day. And they need friends -- every day." (Ch. 10)
Rules of Thumb
- Verb-and-noun test: State the job using verbs and nouns. If you reach for adjectives or adverbs, you are describing an experience quality, not a job.
- Multi-category test: List five candidate solutions. If they all come from the same product class, zoom out until candidates span categories.
- Circumstance check: Can you name who, when, where, and while-doing-what? If not, the job is still a need or a guiding principle.
- Three-dimension audit: Have you articulated the functional, social, and emotional dimensions? If only functional, you are designing the better mousetrap nobody hires.
- Nonconsumption scan: Ask what people are doing instead -- including nothing. The biggest competitor is often inaction.
Related References
- core framework - The overarching theory
- The Emotional and Social Layers - The three dimensions in depth
- The Four Forces of Progress - Forces that activate around a job