Jobs to Be Done, often shortened to JTBD, is a way of looking at consumers not just as demographic groups or user types – but as people trying to make progress in their lives. When someone buys a product or service, they’re usually “hiring” it to do a specific job for them. Understanding that job – and the motivations behind it – is what the JTBD framework focuses on.

Think of it this way: people don’t buy a drill because they want a drill. They buy it because they need a hole in the wall. That “hole” is the job to be done. Going further, maybe the real job is to hang a family photo to make their house feel more like home. That layer of insight goes beyond features and touches on emotional drivers.

Why JTBD Matters in Market Research

Traditional market research often segments audiences by age, income, or lifestyle. While useful, these categories don’t always explain why people make the choices they do. JTBD shifts the lens from who the customer is to what they are trying to accomplish. This helps businesses frame their offerings in a way that’s more relevant and impactful.

By focusing on the job rather than the product, teams gain a clearer understanding of:

• Unmet needs or frustrations in current solutions
• What functional tasks – and emotional outcomes – customers care most about
• New opportunities to innovate or differentiate from competitors

JTBD vs Traditional Research Approaches

Consider a fictional example: a company developing a fitness app might normally ask, “What features do millennials want in a workout app?” But applying JTBD, they might instead ask, “What job are busy professionals trying to get done when they exercise at home?” This reframing could reveal that users are trying to feel accomplished in just 20 minutes – a powerful insight that can directly inform design, messaging, and strategy.

At its core, Jobs to Be Done helps teams:

• Align product development with real consumer goals
• Create customer-centric innovation processes
• Spot gaps in the market that others miss

Whether you're launching a new service or rethinking an existing one, the JTBD approach in market research leads to more relevant solutions because it's rooted in what customers are truly trying to achieve.

Agile research is a flexible, iterative approach that enables faster learning by running smaller, quicker studies throughout the product or marketing process. Instead of conducting a single large research effort at the beginning or end of a project, Agile research spreads the insight collection across different stages – often in real time.

This method mirrors Agile product development, where teams build in cycles called sprints, testing and adjusting as they go. In the same way, Agile market research supports teams with ongoing feedback, so they're constantly learning, refining, and evolving with confidence.

Why Agile Research Is Powerful for Businesses

Speed-to-market matters. So does making informed decisions. Agile research gives business leaders the ability to do both. By integrating lean, focused research touchpoints into the process, teams can answer questions on the fly without sacrificing the quality of the insights.

Here’s how Agile research supports better, faster decision-making:

• Quick turnaround: Teams get answers fast – often within days – enabling immediate action.
• Flexibility: Research questions can be refined as priorities shift or new challenges emerge.
• Cost-effective: Smaller studies done more often means less risk and more return per decision.
• Iterative learning: Insights build over time, creating a richer understanding of the customer journey.

How Agile Fits into the Consumer Insights Process

Agile research doesn’t replace traditional market research methods – it complements them. While big, strategic studies still have their place, Agile is ideal when speed and adaptability are key. It’s especially useful during fast-paced projects like product launches, messaging tests, or user experience optimizations.

Let’s say a team is developing a new meal kit brand, and needs to test packaging concepts, price sensitivity, and advertising messages over several weeks. Using Agile research, they can run short surveys or qualitative interviews between sprints, gradually fine-tuning the concept based on real consumer feedback.

Agile Research + JTBD = Even Smarter Insight

When paired with the JTBD framework, Agile becomes even more impactful. Teams not only get quick feedback – they get feedback that’s focused on how well a product fulfills a specific job consumers are trying to do. This alignment creates a more targeted and customer-centered development process.

Whether you’re building a product, shaping a brand strategy, or exploring a market trend, Agile research gives your team the agility and clarity needed to move forward with confidence – powered by real, useful business insights.

When it comes to creating products or marketing strategies that truly resonate with customers, combining the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework with Agile research practices sets a powerful foundation. On their own, both JTBD and Agile offer valuable approaches for understanding consumer behavior and accelerating innovation. But when used together, they unlock a smarter, faster, and more customer-centric way to drive growth.

Complementary Strengths

The JTBD framework focuses on uncovering the underlying motivations behind customer behavior – essentially, what people are trying to accomplish in their lives when they 'hire' a product or service. Meanwhile, Agile market research is all about speed, adaptability, and testing ideas iteratively. The two methods complement each other because JTBD gives clear direction (the “why”), while Agile determines the best path forward (the “how”).

Some traditional research methods look backward or rely heavily on surface-level wants. JTBD, on the other hand, digs beneath the surface to reveal the real drivers of decision-making. Add to that the nimbleness of Agile research sprints, and companies can explore solutions cross-functionally, learning and refining as they go.

JTBD Provides Purpose, Agile Brings Momentum

In innovation projects, JTBD helps identify high-value opportunities by zeroing in on unmet customer needs. Agile research then builds momentum by quickly testing and learning how well different solutions meet those needs. Fast idea testing within a JTBD strategy leads to quicker validation – or failure – which keeps teams aligned with what truly matters to users.

For example, a fictional health beverage brand might discover through JTBD insights that customers don’t just want “low sugar,” they want “energy without the crash.” That key job becomes a guiding insight. Through Agile research, the team can test flavors, packaging, and positioning in quick cycles, always referencing that core job to evaluate success.

Focused Innovation, Reduced Waste

By anchoring Agile concept development in JTBD insights, teams avoid the trap of chasing trends or relying on internal assumptions. Instead, they innovate with purpose – every test, prototype, and decision is grounded in what real customers are trying to accomplish. This makes the overall innovation process far more efficient, impactful, and likely to result in successful product launches or brand positioning shifts.

When teams use the JTBD framework in tandem with Agile market research methods, tangible business advantages emerge. This pairing helps translate deep consumer understanding into practical, real-world action. The end result: better decisions, faster product iterations, and more meaningful customer impact.

Faster Time to Insight

Agile by nature speeds up research and product development cycles. But when paired with JTBD insights, those accelerated actions are far more targeted. Instead of going wide and testing every possible idea, teams stay focused on solving the specific “jobs” customers are trying to get done. This leads to fewer detours and faster paths to what works.

Imagine a startup building a financial planning app, for instance, which learns via JTBD that users actually need “reduced stress around monthly payments,” not just a budgeting tool. Agile research then helps test specific features – like reminder alerts or bill forecasting – much more efficiently.

Improved Product-Market Fit

One core benefit of Jobs to Be Done for product teams is that it reduces the guesswork. Instead of building based on internal assumptions, teams work directly off grounded consumer insights. As Agile cycles progress, teams prioritize features or messaging that deliver on real user needs. This leads to product launches with tighter alignment to the market.

You’re not just creating something new – you’re creating something useful and relevant, right from the start.

Clearer Customer Narratives

Traditional personas can sometimes reduce customers to vague categories. JTBD provides a more dynamic, task-driven view of people, and Agile allows teams to quickly see how non-obvious needs unfold in real settings. This enables marketing, product, and design teams to craft messaging and experiences that feel genuinely helpful.

 
• Faster responses to shifting customer needs
 
• More aligned cross-functional team collaboration
 
• Reduced research and development waste
 
• Products and messages that stand out in the market
 

Ultimately, Agile and JTBD in market research work hand-in-hand to create a research approach that’s not only quick and adaptive, but deeply meaningful and strategic.

Ready to align your business innovation with what your customers actually want? Using the JTBD framework for business growth within Agile cycles doesn’t require an overhaul – just a shift in how you approach questions and structure research. Here’s how to begin building your JTBD strategy into Agile research projects.

Start by Defining the Customer’s “Job”

The first step is identifying the core problems or outcomes your customer is trying to achieve. These “jobs” go beyond tasks – they reflect emotional, functional, or social motivations. Research techniques like customer interviews, empathy sessions, or observational studies are especially effective here.

For instance, rather than seeing a customer as someone who “needs a drill,” you uncover that they actually “want to create a safe, cozy home.” That insight reframes everything.

Turn Jobs into Sprint Inputs

Once you’ve identified priority jobs, use them to guide sprint planning. Each idea or prototype should be evaluated through the lens of how well it helps customers complete their job. This keeps each iteration purpose-driven rather than just exploratory.

Design Agile Research Around Progress

In each sprint, structure testing and validation to measure how fully a concept helps the user make progress in their job. This might involve simple usability tests or short feedback loops – whatever helps gather honest input quickly.

Pairing JTBD with classic Agile research tools – like concept boards, surveys, or in-context user testing – strengthens your ability to course-correct efficiently. Your goal is never just features – it’s progress for the customer.

Embed JTBD Thinking Across Your Team

Finally, encourage your broader product, marketing, and leadership teams to adopt a JTBD mindset. It helps create a shared understanding of the customer that informs every stage – from brand strategy to UX to pricing.

JTBD vs traditional research methods isn’t about better or worse; it’s about depth. When guided by JTBD strategy and executed through Agile research methods, your work becomes more confident, creative, and aligned with real consumer insight.

Working with a partner like SIVO can help you build this structure smoothly – combining actionable research with expert moderation to root your Agile process in human-centered intelligence.