Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) reframes product thinking from “what should the product do?” to “what is the user trying to accomplish?”

Instead of a flat list of feature requests, you get a structured map of user needs - some cluster together, some are already well-served, some reveal gaps you hadn’t considered. Organized by features, you get a backlog. Organized by jobs, you get a strategy.

The core ideas

  • Organize around jobs, not features. “Prepare for a customer meeting” is a job. “Add a filter” is a feature that might serve that job - or might not. Grouping requests by job makes prioritization much easier than comparing unrelated features.
  • Separate the job from the solution. When someone asks for a specific feature, the job behind it often points to a better solution than the one requested.
  • Prioritize by importance and satisfaction gap. The highest-priority work is where a job is important but currently underserved. A well-served job, even an important one, can wait.

Open questions

  • How granular should jobs be? “Get answers about products” is too broad. “Find the latest pricing for a specific SKU in a specific segment” is too narrow. The right altitude matters.
  • How do you handle jobs that span multiple products or teams?
  • How do you explain this to stakeholders who think in features?