CHAPTER 2 Core Concepts of JTBD
IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL LEARN:
• How to separate the different elements of JTBD
• Guidelines for formulating JTBD
• The hierarchical nature of JTBD
• How to get started scoping a JTBD project
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a startling finding about our solar system. In De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), he proved mathematically that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, as previously believed. This represented a paradigm shift away from thinking that the earth was the center of the universe.
To explain his heliocentric theory, Copernicus created a model of the solar system, shown in Figure 2.1. Of course, the movement of the planets is more complicated than shown. The orbits of the planets are not perfect circles, for one, and the distances between them aren’t nearly as uniform as suggested in his visualization. His model is an inaccurate abstraction but makes a clear point: the earth is not in the center of our solar system, the sun is.
FIGURE 2.1 Copernicus reflected his observations in a model of the solar system, putting the sun at the center instead of the earth.
Although the ensuing Copernican Revolution took decades to take hold, his discovery wasn’t just of scientific importance. It also shook the mindset of people at that time: no longer could people see themselves as the center of the universe.
In some sense, we’re witnessing a type of Copernican Revolution in business. Instead of organizations and their brand products being in the middle, the customer stands at the center of the business universe now. After all, the competition is just one click away, and customers have an increasing number of options. The business imperative has flipped from a push to a pull: companies don’t sell products, they buy customers. To do so, companies have to understand the fundamental needs and objectives of people in their market.
The problem is that many businesses aren’t ready to absorb the effects of this paradigm shift. They instead cling to management models of the past, despite the new customer-centric imperative. They struggle to find a new center to their view of the world. But markets don’t wait: value isn’t measured by some feature set or capability, but rather how people perceive the benefits of an offering.
JTBD helps. It provides a systematic framework for creating your own model of people’s needs. Like Copernicus’s diagram, models of the job to be done are abstractions. But those abstractions are an important foundation for integrating human needs into business decision-making.
To understand how JTBD can help shift mindsets, let’s first look at the various elements of the framework and how they come together to provide a new North Star to follow.
Elements of JTBD
A core strength of JTBD is its structure, which clearly separates out various aspects of achieving objectives. The who, what, how, why and when/where are analyzed individually, giving both precision and flexibility to JTBD methods. My simplified model of JTBD consists of five core elements, illustrated in Figure 2.2.1
• Job performer (who): The executor of the main job, the ultimate end user
• Jobs (what): The aim of the performer, what they want to accomplish
• Process (how): The procedure of how the job will get done
• Needs (why): Why the performer acts in a certain way while executing the job, or their requirements or intended outcomes during the job process
• Circumstances (when/where): The contextual factors that frame job execution
FIGURE 2.2 Five key elements describe the JTBD ecosystem.
Job Performer
Who is trying to get the job done? The job performer represents the individual who will be executing the job. That person is the eventual end user of the services you’ll provide.
Be sure to make a distinction between the various functions involved in performing the job, in particular differentiating the performer from the buyer. Don’t conflate the two, because they have different needs. Think
