One of the most precious items in my toolkit is Jobs to be Done, or JTBD. It’s something I’ve been rambling on about for a while now, because I see how powerful a source of insights it can be when applied in a useful way.
But I also notice how people struggle with going from theory to practice, and how to turn insight into action with Jobs to be Done.
Use case › Persona
One simple tool I’ve found to work well for this purpose is the Job Story.
Unlike User Stories, that emphasize the person(a), a Job Story puts the spotlight on use case; the context and circumstances that motivate people to act towards a desired outcome.
The format is this:
When _______ [context],
I want to ________ [motivation],
So I can _________ (desired outcome)
Eg. “When a new customer signs up, I want to be notified, so I can start a conversation with them.”
That’s it. A simple one-sentence statement that everyone can understand, is easy to explain and lends itself to further evolvement, exploration and communication.
Intro to Job Stories
You might like these slides, from a recent meetup in the #JTBD·CPH Meetup group, where we discussed how to use Jobs to guide strategy and design.