| name | jtbd-principles |
| description | Shared principles, terminology, evidence discipline, and core contracts for all Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) and Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) agent skills. |
JTBD Shared Principles & Core Contract
This document governs all skills in the jtbd-skills repository. It provides the cross-skill terminology, evidence discipline, and strict analytical boundaries required to execute Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) reliably.
1. Core Terminology Contract
Every JTBD skill must strictly maintain the following distinctions:
| Term | Definition | Key Characteristic | Example |
|---|
| Core Functional Job | The stable, functional progress a job executor is trying to accomplish. | Solution-free, outcome-free, emotionally neutral. | Restore blood flow in a blocked artery |
| Job Executor | The specific person performing the core functional job. | Not a buyer persona or demographic tag. | Interventional cardiologist |
| Solution | A specific product, feature, technology, supplier, algorithm, or channel used to get a job done. | Variable over time; interchangeable. | Angioplasty balloon catheter, Stent |
| Desired Outcome | A measurable success metric used by the executor to judge how well the job is completed. | Formulaic: Direction + Metric + Object + Clarifier. | Minimize the likelihood of damaging the arterial wall during inflation |
| Emotional Job | How the job executor wants to feel while executing the job. | Internal psychological state. | Feel confident during high-risk procedures |
| Social Job | How the job executor wants to be perceived by peers, patients, or superiors. | External perception / status. | Be regarded as an expert practitioner |
| Consumption Chain Job | A lifecycle support activity related to the product (install, setup, clean, maintain, dispose). | Executed by support roles or executor in support mode. | Sterilize the catheter before procedure |
2. Evidence Discipline & Source Tracing
When analyzing user prompts, research notes, product descriptions, or interview transcripts:
-
Evidence vs. Inference Separation:
- Direct Evidence: Explicit statements provided in the source text. Must be cited or preserved.
- Inference / Hypothesis: Logical deductions made by the agent. Must be explicitly flagged with
status: inferred or status: candidate.
- Fabrication Ban: Never invent customer interviews, survey scores, market satisfaction data, or quotes.
-
Handling Missing Evidence:
- If the job executor is unknown, flag it as an
evidence_gap.
- If evidence is insufficient to define a confident functional job, state
status: insufficient_evidence and specify the exact missing fact needed.
-
No Solution-to-Job Tautology:
- Do NOT define a job by taking a solution name and appending a verb (e.g., "Use an AI tool" -> "Do AI tool usage"). A job exists independently of whether the solution exists.
3. Scope Boundaries across Skills
jtbd-job-definer: Defines, audits, and rewrites the single Core Functional Job Statement.jtbd-job-mapper: Breaks down an established Job into sequential process steps (Universal Job Map).jtbd-outcome-uncoverer: Extracts quantitative Desired Outcome Statements per job map step.jtbd-opportunity-analyzer: Evaluates Opportunity Scores ($Importance + \max(Importance - Satisfaction, 0)$).jtbd-growth-strategist: Formulates business and product positioning strategy.
No skill should cross into the responsibility of another skill without explicit input data.
