There seems to be an ever-expanding set of tools and frameworks meant to address or enhance a wide range of business analyses. This has created a cluttering effect, whereby it can be difficult to successfully select and apply a framework to realize actual benefits. 

One framework that I do find very useful for product strategy thinking is the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework. Not surprisingly, this is a fairly simple framework, but it can force a useful change in perspective. The premise of the framework is that people are seeking to complete some job. The job itself represents the true problem the person is facing. The same product could also be fulfilling different jobs for different segments. 

Let’s use an example: exploring listings on Zillow. The main job Zillow is fulfilling may be to provide prospective home buyers with accurate descriptive information about residential homes, including a fair price, to accelerate the research-to-purchase timeline. With the job of streamlining residential home purchasing in mind, the Zillow team might develop a feature such as instant financing, which would remove an external step of the process. After deploying this feature, the Zillow team might not see the volume of usage they had anticipated.

This could be explained by the product fulfilling a different job for another segment. For Zillow, perhaps there is some percentage of users that are aspirational home buyers that consistently browse the site for purely entertainment purposes. This segment would not be likely to utilize the instant financing feature. The product strategy must therefore define the jobs or problems that should be prioritized in order to achieve the desired user and business outcomes. 

The JTBD framework can of course be applied in a more proactive manner. We must ask ourselves these types of questions: 

• What is the job to be done? 
• Why does the job exist today?
• Who experiences this job and under what circumstances?
• In what ways could the job be fulfilled?
• How well does our proposed solution fulfill the job for our target segment (while also meeting any business outcomes)?

I gravitate toward the JTBD framework because it forces thinking from first principles. A feature or product should solve a clear problem and deliver enough value to persuade users to adopt and/or switch. Sometimes, this fundamental notion gets lost in the shuffle, and JTBD can be a highly effective reminder. 

Additional Recommended Resources:

https://www.christenseninstitute.org/jobs-to-be-done/