jobs-to-be-done

name	jobs-to-be-done
description	Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) analysis using Christensen and Ulwick's Outcome-Driven Innovation. Use when: jobs to be done, JTBD, customer jobs, outcome driven innovation, ODI, forces of progress, job map, switch interview, hiring firing, outcome statements, why customers switch.

Analyze markets, products, and prospects through the Jobs To Be Done lens — the innovation framework developed by Clayton Christensen (Competing Against Luck) and operationalized by Tony Ulwick (Outcome-Driven Innovation).

Core insight: Customers don't buy products. They hire them to make progress in specific circumstances. Understanding the job — not the customer demographics or product features — is what predicts success.

Dual-use skill:

• Sales/BDR Mode: Use Forces of Progress and Switch Interviews to understand why prospects switch, structure discovery calls around the job map, and frame value propositions as outcome statements
• Strategy Mode: Use the full ODI methodology to score outcome importance vs satisfaction, identify underserved opportunities, and analyze competitive hiring/firing dynamics

When to activate: user asks about jobs to be done, JTBD analysis, customer jobs, outcome-driven innovation, forces of progress, switch interviews, or why customers switch solutions.

<quick_start>

Quick Start

Trigger: analyze [company/product/market] using JTBD

Sales Mode (discovery calls, prospect research):

1. Define the core functional job the prospect is hiring for
2. Map Forces of Progress (what's pushing them to switch?)
3. Generate Switch Interview questions for discovery calls
4. Frame your value prop as outcome statements

Strategy Mode (market analysis, product innovation):

1. Write the Job Statement
2. Build the Job Map (8 steps)
3. Generate 15-30 Outcome Statements
4. Score Importance vs Satisfaction (ODI algorithm)
5. Identify top underserved outcomes
6. Analyze Hiring/Firing competitive landscape

Example: Analyze video conferencing for hybrid enterprise teams using JTBD </quick_start>

<core_concepts>

Core Concepts

What Is a Job?

A job is the progress a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance. Jobs are:

• Stable over time — the job of "getting informed about breaking news" hasn't changed in 200 years; only solutions change
• Solution-agnostic — no technologies, products, or methods in the job statement
• Functional + emotional + social — every job has all three dimensions

The 3 Types of Jobs

Type	Definition	Example
Functional	The practical task to accomplish	"Reduce downtime during live broadcasts"
Emotional	How the person wants to feel	"Feel confident the stream won't fail mid-event"
Social	How the person wants to be perceived	"Be seen as a technically competent production team"

Critical Distinctions

Concept	Definition	Example	Problem If Confused
Job	Progress in a circumstance	"Monitor remote classroom quality"	—
Need	Contextual desire	"I need a faster encoder"	Embeds solution bias
User Story	Dev requirement	"As a user, I want alerts"	Specifies implementation
Feature	Product capability	"4K encoding at 60fps"	Describes your product, not their progress

The test: If it mentions your product, a technology, or a specific method, it's NOT a job — it's a solution. Rewrite until it's solution-agnostic. </core_concepts>

<job_statement>

Job Statement

Formula

[When ___], [I want to ___], [so I can ___]

• When: The triggering circumstance (not a persona)
• I want to: The functional job (solution-agnostic verb + object)
• So I can: The higher purpose / desired outcome

Rules for Good Job Statements

1. No technologies, products, or brand names
2. Stable for 10+ years (if the job existed in 2010, it should read the same)
3. One core job per statement (decompose complex jobs)
4. Use active verbs: capture, deliver, ensure, coordinate, monitor

Examples

Domain	Job Statement
Video production	When producing a live event with remote participants, I want to ensure consistent video/audio quality across all sources, so I can deliver a professional broadcast without technical disruptions
Sales enablement	When preparing for a discovery call with a new prospect, I want to quickly understand their current situation and pain points, so I can ask relevant questions that uncover their real needs
IT operations	When a critical system shows degraded performance, I want to identify the root cause and affected scope, so I can restore service before users are significantly impacted
</job_statement>

<job_map>

Job Map — 8 Universal Steps

Every job follows these 8 steps. Use them to structure discovery calls and identify outcome opportunities at each stage.

Step	Definition	Discovery Question
1. Define	Determine goals, plan approach, assess resources	"How do you decide what success looks like for [job]?"
2. Locate	Find the inputs and information needed	"Where do you go to find the [information/materials] you need?"
3. Prepare	Set up the environment, organize inputs	"What setup or preparation do you do before [executing the job]?"
4. Confirm	Verify readiness before execution	"How do you confirm everything is ready before you begin?"
5. Execute	Perform the core job activity	"Walk me through how you actually do [the job] today."
6. Monitor	Track whether the job is going well	"How do you know if things are going well or going wrong during [the job]?"
7. Modify	Make adjustments when things change	"When something goes wrong mid-[job], what do you do to correct it?"
8. Conclude	Finish, clean up, evaluate results	"How do you wrap up? How do you know if [the job] was done well?"

Sales application: Walk prospects through steps 1-8 during discovery. Each step where they describe friction, workarounds, or pain is an opportunity signal.

Strategy application: Generate 2-4 outcome statements per step to build a comprehensive outcome set (15-30 total outcomes). </job_map>

<outcome_statements>

Outcome Statements

Formula

[Direction] + [metric] + [object of control]

Directions: Minimize, Reduce, Increase, Maximize, Decrease, Eliminate

Rules

• Must be measurable (contains a metric: time, likelihood, number, amount)
• Must be controllable (something the user can influence)
• Must be solution-agnostic (no product references)

Examples

Job Map Step	Outcome Statement	Imp	Sat
Locate	Minimize the time it takes to identify the right input sources	9	4
Prepare	Reduce the likelihood of missing a required setup step	8	5
Execute	Minimize the number of manual adjustments needed during execution	9	3
Monitor	Increase the ability to detect problems before they affect output	10	4
Conclude	Minimize the time it takes to verify the job was completed correctly	7	6

Imp = Importance (1-10), Sat = Satisfaction with current solution (1-10)

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Bad Example	Fixed
Too vague	"Make it easier"	"Minimize the number of steps to configure input sources"
Solution-embedded	"Reduce time switching between Zoom and OBS"	"Minimize the time switching between source views"
Not measurable	"Improve the monitoring experience"	"Increase the likelihood of detecting quality drops within 5 seconds"
</outcome_statements>

<forces_of_progress>

Forces of Progress

When a customer switches solutions, four forces are at play. Two drive change, two resist it.

  DRIVING CHANGE                    RESISTING CHANGE
  ─────────────                     ────────────────
  ┌─────────────────┐               ┌─────────────────┐
  │  PUSH            │               │  ANXIETY          │
  │  Current pain    │──────────────▶│  Fear of new      │
  │  "This is broken"│               │  "What if it's    │
  │                  │               │   worse?"         │
  └─────────────────┘               └─────────────────┘
  ┌─────────────────┐               ┌─────────────────┐
  │  PULL            │               │  HABIT            │
  │  New attraction  │──────────────▶│  Comfort of old   │
  │  "That looks     │               │  "I know how this │
  │   better"        │               │   works"          │
  └─────────────────┘               └─────────────────┘

Switch happens when: Push + Pull > Anxiety + Habit

BDR Quick Reference — Discovery Questions

Push (uncover current pain):

1. "What's the most frustrating part of how you handle [job] today?"
2. "When was the last time [current solution] let you down? What happened?"
3. "If you could wave a magic wand, what would you fix first?"

Pull (new solution attraction):

1. "What made you start looking at alternatives?"
2. "What would an ideal solution for [job] look like?"
3. "Who else have you looked at? What caught your eye?"

Anxiety (reduce fear of change):

1. "What concerns do you have about switching from [current solution]?"
2. "What would need to be true for you to feel confident making a change?"
3. "Have you tried switching before? What happened?"

Habit (overcome inertia):

1. "How long have you been using [current solution]?"
2. "What would your team say if you changed how they do [job]?"
3. "Is the team trained on the current system? Who would need retraining?"

Sales insight: If Push is weak, the prospect isn't ready — nurture, don't sell. If Anxiety is strong, your demo must directly address their specific fears. </forces_of_progress>

<hiring_firing>

Hiring/Firing Analysis

Customers "hire" solutions to get a job done and "fire" them when they fail. Map the competitive landscape through this lens.

Template

Solution Currently Hired	Hired For (what job?)	Fired For (why it fails)	Workarounds Used
Manual spreadsheet process	Tracking inputs, flexible	Breaks at scale, error-prone	Copy-paste, double-checking
Legacy on-prem software	Reliability, IT control	Slow updates, poor UX	Shadow IT tools alongside
Competitor SaaS	Quick setup, modern UI	Missing enterprise features	Custom integrations bolted on
Doing nothing	Zero cost, no change risk	Job doesn't get done well	Accepting poor outcomes

Key questions:

• What is the prospect currently "hiring" for this job?
• Why might they "fire" their current solution? (= your opening)
• What workarounds reveal unmet outcomes? (= your differentiation)
• Is "doing nothing" a competitor? (often the hardest to beat)

Non-obvious insight: Your biggest competitor is often NOT another product — it's the combination of workarounds, habits, and "good enough" that the prospect has assembled. Understand the full "hired set" before pitching. </hiring_firing>

<switch_interview>

Switch Interview Timeline

Map the prospect's decision journey from first thought to final decision. Based on Bob Moesta's demand-side interviewing methodology.

The Timeline

First       Passive      Active       Deciding     Consuming    Satisfaction
Thought     Looking      Looking
  │            │            │            │            │            │
  ▼            ▼            ▼            ▼            ▼            ▼
"Something  "I notice    "I'm         "Comparing   "Using the   "Was it
 isn't       alternatives  actively     options,     new          worth
 working"    in passing"   searching"   getting      solution"    switching?"
                                        buy-in"

Questions per Phase

First Thought: "When did you first realize the current way of doing [job] wasn't working? What triggered that moment?"

Passive Looking: "Before you started actively searching, did you notice any alternatives? Where? What caught your attention?"

Active Looking: "What made you shift from 'just noticing' to actively searching? What did you search for? Who did you talk to?"

Deciding: "How did you narrow your options? What criteria mattered most? Who else was involved in the decision?"

Consuming: "What was the onboarding/setup experience like? Did reality match expectations?"

Satisfaction: "Looking back, did the switch solve the original problem? What surprised you — good or bad?"

Sales Application

• Won deal debrief: Walk the buyer through all 6 phases — you'll discover what ACTUALLY sold them (it's rarely what you think)
• Lost deal debrief: Find where in the timeline you lost — First Thought (no pain) vs Deciding (lost on criteria) vs Consuming (bad onboarding)
• Discovery calls: Use First Thought and Active Looking questions to understand where the prospect IS in their timeline right now </switch_interview>

<opportunity_algorithm>

Opportunity Algorithm (ODI Scoring)

Tony Ulwick's Outcome-Driven Innovation scoring identifies which outcomes are underserved (high opportunity) vs overserved (commoditized).

Formula

Opportunity Score = Importance + max(Importance - Satisfaction, 0)

• Importance (Imp): 1-10, how critical is this outcome to getting the job done?
• Satisfaction (Sat): 1-10, how well does the current solution address this?
• Score range: 1-20

Interpretation

Score	Classification	Action
>15	Underserved — High importance, low satisfaction	Primary innovation target. Lead with this in sales pitches
12-15	Appropriately served — Balanced	Table stakes. Must match competitors, no differentiation here
<12	Overserved — Low importance or high satisfaction	Simplify/reduce cost. Customers may pay less for "good enough"

Scoring Example

#	Outcome Statement	Imp	Sat	Score	Class
1	Minimize time to detect quality drops during live broadcast	10	3	17	Underserved
2	Reduce likelihood of audio sync issues across sources	9	4	14	Served
3	Minimize manual adjustments needed during a live event	9	3	15	Underserved
4	Increase ability to switch sources without visible glitches	8	6	10	Overserved
5	Minimize time to set up multi-source recording	7	5	9	Overserved

JTBD Opportunity Index (0-100 Composite)

For consistency with Blue Ocean and Business Model Canvas scoring:

def jtbd_opportunity_index(outcomes):
    """Normalize ODI scores to 0-100 composite index."""
    scores = [imp + max(imp - sat, 0) for imp, sat in outcomes]
    max_possible = 20  # imp=10, sat=0
    avg_normalized = sum(s / max_possible for s in scores) / len(scores)

    # Weight by number of underserved outcomes
    underserved_ratio = sum(1 for s in scores if s > 15) / len(scores)

    index = (avg_normalized * 70) + (underserved_ratio * 30)
    return round(index * 100) / 100

# Interpretation:
# 75-100: Massive opportunity — many critical underserved outcomes
# 50-74:  Solid opportunity — clear gaps to exploit
# 25-49:  Moderate — some gaps, market partially served
# 0-24:   Low opportunity — market well-served, compete on cost/convenience

</opportunity_algorithm>

<consumption_chain>

Consumption Chain

Analyze friction across the full lifecycle of how customers interact with solutions for this job.

Phase	Key Question
Awareness	How do customers first learn a solution exists for this job?
Acquisition	How do they evaluate and purchase? What's the buying process friction?
Setup	How long from purchase to first use? What blocks quick time-to-value?
Daily Use	What does the core usage pattern look like? Where are the pain points?
Supplementing	What other tools/workarounds do they combine with this solution?
Maintenance	What upkeep, updates, or troubleshooting does the solution require?
Disposal	How do they stop using it? What's the switching cost / data lock-in?

Each friction point in the consumption chain is a potential innovation opportunity or competitive advantage. </consumption_chain>

<example_session>

Example: Video Conferencing for Hybrid Enterprise Teams

Job Statement

When coordinating a meeting with both in-room and remote participants, I want to ensure everyone can see, hear, and contribute equally, so I can run productive meetings regardless of where people are located.

Job Map (Key Steps)

Step	Current Reality	Friction
Prepare	IT pre-checks room AV 30 min before	Time-consuming, still fails
Confirm	"Can everyone hear me?" ritual	Wastes first 5 minutes every meeting
Execute	Remote participants talk over each other	No spatial audio, poor camera framing
Monitor	No way to know if remote audio is degrading	Find out when someone says "you're breaking up"
Modify	Manual camera switching, volume adjusting	Presenter distracted from content

Top 5 Outcome Statements (Scored)

#	Outcome	Imp	Sat	Score
1	Minimize time to detect remote participant audio/video issues	10	3	17
2	Reduce likelihood that in-room audio is unclear for remote participants	9	4	14
3	Minimize manual camera adjustments needed during meetings	9	2	16
4	Increase ability for remote participants to contribute equally	10	4	16
5	Minimize setup time required before hybrid meetings	8	5	11

JTBD Opportunity Index: 72/100 — Solid opportunity, 3 of 5 outcomes underserved.

Forces of Progress (Prospect Switching from Legacy Room System)

Force	Evidence
Push	"We spend $50K/year on room systems that remote workers say are terrible. CEO noticed in board meeting."
Pull	"Saw a demo where AI auto-framed speakers and mixed audio. That's what we need."
Anxiety	"We have 40 conference rooms. Ripping out existing AV is a 6-month project."
Habit	"Our AV team knows the current system inside out. They're resistant to change."

Verdict: Push + Pull strong. Anxiety manageable with phased rollout. Habit requires AV team champion.

Hiring/Firing

Solution	Hired For	Fired For
Legacy room AV	Reliability, IT familiarity	Poor remote experience
Zoom Rooms	Easy setup, familiar UI	Limited AV quality control
OBS + custom rig	Maximum flexibility	Too complex, fragile
Nothing (laptop webcam)	Zero cost	Terrible room experience
</example_session>

<success_criteria>

Success Criteria

• Job Statement follows [When], [I want to], [so I can] — no products, technologies, or methods mentioned
• Job Map covers all 8 steps with discovery questions
• Outcome Statements use Direction + Metric + Object formula and are measurable
• Forces of Progress mapped with specific evidence/quotes (not generic)
• ODI Opportunity Scores calculated: Importance + max(Importance - Satisfaction, 0)
• Top 3 underserved outcomes identified (score > 15)
• Hiring/Firing table maps competitive landscape through job lens
• JTBD Opportunity Index calculated (0-100 composite score) </success_criteria>

<integration_points>

Strategy Skill Cluster

JTBD integrates with 4 other strategy skills for first-principles thinking:

Skill	Connection
Blue Ocean	Underserved outcomes (ODI >15) are candidates for Blue Ocean "Create" and "Raise" factors
BMC	Job statements define Customer Segments; outcome statements define Value Propositions
Challenger Sale	The Reframe step IS the underserved outcome the prospect doesn't know they have. Use ODI scoring to identify the insight.
NSTTD	Calibrated questions ("What does success look like?") are job-discovery questions. Forces of Progress map to the emotional dynamics NSTTD addresses.

Pipeline: JTBD (what job?) → Blue Ocean (where's the space?) → BMC (how to deliver?) → Challenger (what insight?) → NSTTD (how to communicate?) </integration_points>

Emit Outcome Sidecar

As the final step, write to ~/.claude/skill-analytics/last-outcome-jobs-to-be-done.json:

{"ts":"[UTC ISO8601]","skill":"jobs-to-be-done","version":"1.0.0","variant":"default",
 "status":"[success|partial|error]","runtime_ms":[estimated ms from start],
 "metrics":{"job_statements_created":[n],"outcome_statements":[n],"odi_scores_calculated":[n],"underserved_outcomes":[n]},
 "error":null,"session_id":"[YYYY-MM-DD]"}

Use status "partial" if some stages failed but results were produced. Use "error" only if no output was generated.