{"kind":"Skill","metadata":{"namespace":"community","name":"thinking-jobs-to-be-done","version":"0.1.0"},"spec":{"description":"Understand what \"job\" users hire your product to do, focusing on progress users seek rather than features. Use for product development, feature prioritization, user research, and market positioning.","files":{"SKILL.md":"---\nname: thinking-jobs-to-be-done\ndescription: Understand what \"job\" users hire your product to do, focusing on progress users seek rather than features. Use for product development, feature prioritization, user research, and market positioning.\n---\n\n# Jobs to Be Done\n\n## Overview\n\nJobs to Be Done (JTBD), developed by Clayton Christensen, reframes product thinking around the progress customers are trying to make in their lives. People don't buy products; they \"hire\" products to do a job. Understanding the job reveals what you're really competing against and what success looks like.\n\n**Core Principle:** People don't want a quarter-inch drill. They don't even want a quarter-inch hole. They want to hang a picture of their family.\n\n## When to Use\n\n- Product development and roadmapping\n- Feature prioritization\n- User research and interviews\n- Competitive analysis\n- Market positioning\n- Understanding \"surprising\" competitors\n- Debugging low adoption of features\n\nDecision flow:\n\n```\nBuilding/improving a product?\n  → Do you understand the job users hire it for? → no → DISCOVER THE JOB\n  → Are features not being adopted? → yes → CHECK JOB ALIGNMENT\n  → Surprising competitors winning? → yes → IDENTIFY THEIR JOB\n```\n\n## Understanding Jobs\n\n### The Job Formula\n\n```\nWhen I [situation/trigger]\nI want to [motivation/progress]\nSo I can [desired outcome/better state]\n```\n\n**Example:**\n```\nWhen I [finish a project milestone]\nI want to [notify my team without disrupting their focus]\nSo I can [maintain team awareness while respecting their time]\n\nJob: \"Keep team informed asynchronously\"\nNot: \"Use Slack\" (that's a solution, not the job)\n```\n\n### Job Dimensions\n\nEvery job has multiple dimensions:\n\n| Dimension | Question | Example (Project Management Tool) |\n|-----------|----------|-----------------------------------|\n| Functional | What task needs doing? | Track tasks, assign work, see progress |\n| Emotional | How do I want to feel? | In control, not overwhelmed, confident |\n| Social | How do I want to appear? | Organized, reliable, professional |\n\n### Job Context\n\nJobs are situation-specific:\n\n```\nSame person, different jobs:\n\nMorning: \"Help me triage what needs attention today\"\n         → Simple dashboard, prioritized list\n\nDeep work: \"Get out of my way, let me focus\"\n           → Minimal notifications, distraction-free\n\nEnd of day: \"Help me hand off cleanly so I can disconnect\"\n            → Status summary, async update capabilities\n```\n\n## The JTBD Discovery Process\n\n### Step 1: Identify Job Performers\n\nWho is \"hiring\" your product?\n\n```markdown\n## Job Performers\n\nPrimary: Engineering managers\n- Hire product for: tracking team delivery\n- Frequency: daily\n- Stakes: team performance visible to leadership\n\nSecondary: Individual engineers\n- Hire product for: knowing what to work on next\n- Frequency: multiple times daily\n- Stakes: personal productivity and recognition\n```\n\n### Step 2: Discover Jobs Through Interviews\n\nAsk about behavior, not hypotheticals:\n\n```markdown\n## JTBD Interview Questions\n\nAbout recent usage:\n- \"Walk me through the last time you used [product]\"\n- \"What triggered you to open it?\"\n- \"What were you trying to accomplish?\"\n- \"How did you know when you were done?\"\n\nAbout the switch:\n- \"What were you using before?\"\n- \"What wasn't working about the old solution?\"\n- \"What finally made you switch?\"\n- \"What did you give up by switching?\"\n\nAbout progress:\n- \"What does success look like for this task?\"\n- \"How do you know when things are going well?\"\n- \"What frustrates you most about this process?\"\n```\n\n### Step 3: Analyze Competing Solutions\n\nWhat else could do this job?\n\n```markdown\n## Competition for \"Keep team informed on project status\"\n\nDirect competitors:\n- Other project management tools (Asana, Monday.com)\n\nIndirect competitors (same job, different solution):\n- Email updates\n- Slack messages\n- Weekly standup meetings\n- Walking over to someone's desk\n- Spreadsheets\n\nNon-consumption:\n- Just hope everyone knows\n- Let things fall through cracks\n\nInsight: We're not competing with other tools—we're competing\n        with \"just send an email\" and \"bring it up in standup\"\n```\n\n### Step 4: Map Job Steps\n\nBreak the job into stages:\n\n```markdown\n## Job Map: \"Deliver working software on time\"\n\n1. Define: Understand what needs to be built\n   - Sub-jobs: Clarify requirements, estimate scope, identify risks\n\n2. Plan: Organize how to build it\n   - Sub-jobs: Break into tasks, sequence work, allocate resources\n\n3. Execute: Build the thing\n   - Sub-jobs: Track progress, remove blockers, adjust course\n\n4. Validate: Confirm it works\n   - Sub-jobs: Test, get feedback, verify acceptance criteria\n\n5. Deliver: Get it to users\n   - Sub-jobs: Deploy, communicate, monitor\n\nPain points cluster around: #2 (scope conflicts) and #3 (blocker visibility)\n```\n\n### Step 5: Identify Outcome Metrics\n\nWhat does success look like for the job?\n\n```markdown\n## Desired Outcomes: \"Deliver working software on time\"\n\nMinimize:\n- Time spent on status reporting\n- Surprises in sprint reviews\n- Blocked time waiting for others\n- Rework from misunderstood requirements\n\nMaximize:\n- Confidence in delivery timeline\n- Clarity on priorities\n- Team awareness of blockers\n- Early warning of issues\n```\n\n## JTBD Application Patterns\n\n### Feature Prioritization\n\n```markdown\n## Feature Evaluation: Job Lens\n\nFeature: Advanced reporting dashboard\n\nJob it serves: \"Demonstrate team value to leadership\"\nJob performers: ~10% of users (managers reporting up)\nJob frequency: Monthly\nAlternative solutions: Screenshots + slides (works fine)\n\nVerdict: Low priority - job is infrequent, alternatives adequate\n\n---\n\nFeature: Blocker visibility alerts\n\nJob it serves: \"Remove obstacles before they delay delivery\"\nJob performers: ~60% of users (anyone managing work)\nJob frequency: Daily\nAlternative solutions: Manual check-ins (time-consuming, often missed)\n\nVerdict: High priority - frequent job, poor alternatives\n```\n\n### Competitive Analysis\n\n```markdown\n## Competitive Analysis via JTBD\n\nOur product: Developer documentation tool\n\nTraditional competitive frame:\n- Competitors: ReadMe, GitBook, Docusaurus\n- Differentiation: Features, pricing, integrations\n\nJTBD competitive frame:\nJob: \"Help developers integrate our API successfully\"\n\nCompetitors for this job:\n- Our own code examples (strongest competitor!)\n- Stack Overflow answers\n- Competitor's documentation\n- Direct support from our team\n- Just trying stuff until it works\n\nInsight: Improving code examples in docs might beat any feature work\n```\n\n### Low Adoption Debugging\n\n```markdown\n## Why isn't Feature X being used?\n\nFeature: Automated weekly report generation\nUsage: 3% of target users\n\nJTBD analysis:\nExpected job: \"Create status reports efficiently\"\nActual job: \"Demonstrate my judgment and insight to leadership\"\n\nProblem: Automated reports don't show judgment\n         The PROCESS of creating reports is part of the job\n         They want to curate, not automate\n\nSolution: Change from \"generate report\" to \"draft report for review\"\n          Support the curation job, don't replace it\n```\n\n## JTBD Template\n\n```markdown\n# Jobs to Be Done Analysis: [Product/Feature]\n\n## Job Performers\n| Performer | Hire For | Frequency | Stakes |\n|-----------|----------|-----------|--------|\n| | | | |\n\n## Primary Job\n\nWhen I [situation/trigger]\nI want to [motivation/progress]\nSo I can [desired outcome]\n\n### Job Dimensions\n- Functional: [What task]\n- Emotional: [How feel]\n- Social: [How appear]\n\n## Job Map\n1. [Stage]: [Sub-jobs]\n2. [Stage]: [Sub-jobs]\n...\n\n## Competing Solutions\n| Competitor | How it does the job | Where it falls short |\n|------------|---------------------|---------------------|\n| | | |\n\n## Desired Outcomes\nMinimize:\n- [Negative outcome]\n\nMaximize:\n- [Positive outcome]\n\n## Implications\n- Feature should: [Insight]\n- Feature shouldn't: [Insight]\n- Position against: [True competitor]\n```\n\n## Verification Checklist\n\n- [ ] Identified job performers (who hires the product)\n- [ ] Articulated job in When/Want/So format\n- [ ] Considered functional, emotional, and social dimensions\n- [ ] Mapped job steps\n- [ ] Identified all competing solutions (including non-consumption)\n- [ ] Defined measurable desired outcomes\n- [ ] Features traced to specific jobs\n\n## Key Questions\n\n- \"What job is the user hiring this product to do?\"\n- \"What progress are they trying to make?\"\n- \"What are they switching from? (Including 'nothing')\"\n- \"What are they giving up by using this?\"\n- \"What does success look like for this job?\"\n- \"What surprising competitors exist for this job?\"\n\n## Christensen's Wisdom\n\n\"People don't want a quarter-inch drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole.\"\n\nActually: They want to hang a picture. Actually: They want to enjoy their family photos. The deeper you go, the more insight you get into what \"better\" really means.\n\n\"The jobs that arise in people's lives are the fundamental causal driver behind everything.\"\n\nProducts don't fail because of features. They fail because they don't help people make progress on jobs they care about. Understand the job, and the features become obvious.\n"},"import":{"commit_sha":"a31e22d4445ad8fef7cd771d32af537aebb68c49","imported_at":"2026-05-22T21:14:39Z","license_text":"MIT License\n\nCopyright (c) 2025 TJ Boudreaux\n\nPermission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy\nof this software and associated documentation files (the \"Software\"), to deal\nin the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights\nto use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell\ncopies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is\nfurnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:\n\nThe above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all\ncopies or substantial portions of the Software.\n\nTHE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \"AS IS\", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR\nIMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,\nFITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE\nAUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER\nLIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,\nOUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE\nSOFTWARE.\n","owner":"tjboudreaux","repo":"tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills","source_url":"https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/a31e22d4445ad8fef7cd771d32af537aebb68c49/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done"}},"content_hash":[209,108,45,212,33,150,47,161,12,58,243,221,134,3,159,161,185,125,238,165,248,223,163,91,128,216,96,199,165,165,205,46],"trust_level":"unsigned","yanked":false}