Jobs to Be Done Framework

What is the “Jobs to Be Done” Framework?

The "Jobs to Be Done" framework was created by economist Clayton Christensen as a process for defining, capturing, and organizing the needs of potential customers. Product and business teams use this framework to understand customer problems (or needs) as "jobs" and associate what the product would be hired to solve for the customer.

Clayton Christensen's Milkshake Example

McDonald's used data to create a profile for milkshake customers and performed various studies to learn about how they could improve their milkshakes so customers would buy more of them. The McDonald's marketing and product teams did indeed use customer feedback to improve their milkshake product, but they didn't see any impact on sales or profit.

That's when McDonalds approached Clayton Christensen and his team to help them innovate their milkshake product line. In his 2006 paper, Christensen explained that "There's a job out there somewhere that arises in people's life on occasion that causes them to need them to buy a milkshake." To find out what job that is, he assigned a team member to observe the behaviors of people purchasing milkshakes at a restaurant.

After reviewing the data collected from observation, the team made the following discoveries:

• Over half of the milkshakes were being sold before 8:30 AM
• The milkshake was the only item purchased
• The customers purchasing the milkshakes were always alone
• They always took the milkshake to go.
  

But why? The team showed up at McDonald's the next day to conduct interviews for the people that displayed this same behavior to find out why. Through these interviews, the team learned which situation these customers were in, how it caused them to purchase the milkshake, and what solutions they "hired" to get the job done the last time they were in this same situation. Christensen's team found that: 

• Customers had hired donuts to do the job, but they would typically end up purchasing more than one
• They had hired bagels to do the job, but it is difficult to prepare a bagel while driving
• They had hired a Snickers, but they felt too guilty after they had eaten it
• They had hired a banana, but it didn't do the job very well
  

So why the milkshake? Christensen explains that the job that the customers were trying to get done in their own words: "I have a long and boring drive to work and I needed something to just keep me engaged with life while I'm driving the car." A milkshake took just under 30 minutes to finish, and it would keep drinkers feeling full until 10:00 AM. This was the job that the milkshake customers were hiring the milkshake to do.

Why is the Jobs to Be Done framework important?

Understanding customer needs can be a huge challenge for product teams who inherit existing product lines or have new team members. While it's easier to come up with ideas for a product, it's not as easy to identify the key problems that your potential customers have and shape a solution that fits those needs. The Jobs to Be Done framework helps product teams stop and think about their customers' underserved needs and provide steps on how to make sense of it all.

The benefits of the Jobs to Be Done framework include:

• Increased product innovation: Teams are able to come up with creative solutions to new or existing customer problems that keep them ahead of the competition.
• Clear steps for understanding customer needs and shaping solutions: This framework offers a guide to identifying real problems and creating solutions that solve that problem. For product managers who are new to the field, it's a quick and reliable way to get started.
• Higher likelihood of acquiring customers: Products that truly solve problems or complete jobs for customers are more likely to capture the market's attention.
• Defines competitors: By learning about the job to be done, teams can better understand the competition, especially since competitors trying to solve a given problem may not all exist in the same category.‍
• Prioritization of problems: Identifying the list of jobs to be done helps prioritize what your product does or solves for your customers.