/jobs-to-be-done

name: jobs-to-be-done
description: "Understand why customers really buy by uncovering the \"job\" they're hiring your product to do Use when: **Understanding customer motivation** beyond demographics and feature requests; **Finding product-market fit** by identifying the real progress customers seek; **Discovering why customers switch** (or don't) between solutions; **Identifying true competition** that isn't obvious from industry categories; **Creating marketing messages** that resonate with real customer struggles"
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: ClawFu
  version: 1.0.0
  mcp-server: "@clawfu/mcp-skills"

Jobs to Be Done - Customer Motivation Framework

> Understand why customers really buy by uncovering the "job" they're hiring your product to do

When to Use This Skill

• **Understanding customer motivation** beyond demographics and feature requests
• **Finding product-market fit** by identifying the real progress customers seek
• **Discovering why customers switch** (or don't) between solutions
• **Identifying true competition** that isn't obvious from industry categories
• **Creating marketing messages** that resonate with real customer struggles
• **Prioritizing features** based on unmet customer needs
• **Conducting customer research** that reveals actionable insights

Methodology Foundation

| Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | **Source** | Competing Against Luck (2016), The Innovator's Solution (2003) | | **Expert** | Clayton Christensen (Harvard Business School), Tony Ulwick (Strategyn) | | **Core Principle** | "People don't buy products; they hire them to get jobs done. Understanding the job—not the customer or the product—is the key to predictable innovation." |

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide | |-------------|------------| | Structures production workflow | Final creative direction | | Suggests technical approaches | Equipment and tool choices | | Creates templates and checklists | Quality standards | | Identifies best practices | Brand/voice decisions | | Generates script outlines | Final script approval |

What This Skill Does

This skill helps you shift from asking "Who is my customer?" to asking "What job is my customer trying to get done?"

The result is a fundamentally different understanding of why people buy:

1. **Uncover the real job** - The progress customers are trying to make in their lives 2. **See all three dimensions** - Functional, emotional, and social needs 3. **Understand the forces** - What pushes people to change and what holds them back 4. **Map the job** - Break it down into steps where you can add value 5. **Identify true competition** - Everyone solving the same job, regardless of category

This transforms feature-driven product development into progress-driven innovation.

How to Use

Prompt Examples

Help me identify the Job to Be Done for customers who buy [product/service].
Use the Christensen JTBD framework. Consider functional, emotional, and social dimensions.

I'm seeing customers use my product for [unexpected purpose]. Help me understand
what job they might be hiring it for using JTBD analysis.

Create a Job Map for [specific customer goal]. Break it into the 8 universal steps
and identify where customers might struggle most.

Analyze the forces of progress for someone switching from [current solution] to [my product].
What's pushing them, pulling them, causing anxiety, and creating habit inertia?

Write Job Stories (not user stories) for my [product]. Focus on situation,
motivation, and expected outcome rather than user type and action.

Instructions

The Core Framework

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  JOBS TO BE DONE                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  "When [CIRCUMSTANCE], I want to [JOB], so I can [OUTCOME]" │
│                                                             │
│  ┌───────────┐   ┌───────────┐   ┌───────────┐             │
│  │FUNCTIONAL │ + │ EMOTIONAL │ + │  SOCIAL   │             │
│  │    JOB    │   │    JOB    │   │    JOB    │             │
│  └───────────┘   └───────────┘   └───────────┘             │
│                                                             │
│  What they're    How they want   How they want              │
│  trying to DO    to FEEL         to be SEEN                 │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Step 1: Understand the Three Dimensions

Every job has three dimensions. Products that address all three are far more likely to be "hired."

| Dimension | Question | Example (Fitness App) | |-----------|----------|-----------------------| | **Functional** | What are they trying to accomplish? | Get exercise guidance and track workouts | | **Emotional** | How do they want to feel? | Feel confident, accomplished, in control of health | | **Social** | How do they want to be perceived? | Be seen as fit, disciplined, health-conscious |

**Key Insight**: Many products fail because they nail the functional job but ignore the emotional and social dimensions.

**Exercise**: For your product, fill in:

• "Customers hire us to **DO** _______________"
• "Customers hire us to **FEEL** _______________"
• "Customers hire us to **BE SEEN AS** _______________"

---

Step 2: Identify the Forces of Progress

Four forces determine whether a customer will "switch" to your solution:

                    ┌─────────────┐
                    │    PUSH     │
                    │ Problems    │
                    │ with status │
                    │    quo      │
                    └──────┬──────┘
                           ↓
┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   HABIT     │←────│   CUSTOMER