Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a framework used in market research and product development to understand the underlying goals or “jobs” customers are trying to accomplish. Instead of focusing only on demographics or product categories, JTBD explores the specific outcomes users seek when they decide to use or buy a product.

Think of it this way: People don’t really want just a coffee maker – they want the feeling of a smoother morning, a shot of energy before work, or even the joy of a personal ritual. Those are the jobs they’re hiring that product to do. Exploring these jobs allows product teams to uncover opportunities that conventional consumer research might miss.

Why JTBD is more powerful than simply asking what customers want

Traditional feedback methods, like surveys and feature polls, can surface preferences – but they don’t always reveal deeper motivations. JTBD dives beneath surface-level feedback to identify:

• Functional needs (the task customers want to get done)
• Emotional drivers (like control, confidence, or peace of mind)
• Social context (who will see or be affected by the product choice)

By understanding these elements, businesses can craft solutions that connect more meaningfully with users. This clarity supports stronger product roadmap decisions and a more targeted innovation strategy.

JTBD helps align product vision with real-world needs

One of the main benefits of the JTBD framework is that it turns vague user feedback into clear direction. Teams no longer have to guess what customers might like – they can design features that directly support a job that needs to be done.

For example, in a fictional case, a financial wellness app might discover that users aren’t simply looking for budgeting tools – they’re seeking to feel more in control of their future. That insight points to new feature opportunities that go beyond spreadsheets, like digital coaching or long-term goal tracking.

When applied correctly, JTBD becomes a cornerstone of product strategy. It brings customer insights closer to decision-making and ensures that development efforts stay focused on what will actually matter to the people using your product. This approach humanizes data, drives feature prioritization, and ultimately steers businesses toward more effective innovation.

Great products don’t succeed because they have the most features – they succeed because they meet customer needs at the right time in the right way. The Jobs to Be Done framework brings this into focus by highlighting what users are trying to achieve, then guiding product teams to build toward those outcomes.

By shifting the question from “What can we build?” to “What are our customers trying to accomplish?”, JTBD helps cut through competing priorities and identifies the features that make a real difference in user experience. This is especially valuable when roadmaps are crowded or development resources are limited.

Turning raw insights into practical feature priorities

When used correctly, JTBD research surfaces actionable language straight from the consumer that can inform product direction. Patterns begin to emerge in customer interviews or surveys, revealing the core problems they face and the results they’re hoping to achieve. From there, teams can group ideas into meaningful “jobs” and map features directly to them.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of how that process might look:

1. Identify the job: Understand what the user is trying to get done (e.g. manage monthly expenses without stress).
2. Understand success: Define what a successful outcome looks like for them (e.g. staying on budget and feeling in control).
3. Pinpoint obstacles: Find what gets in the way (e.g. complicated interfaces, lack of reminders).
4. Brainstorm feature solutions: Map product features to help the user overcome those barriers and achieve their ideal result.

JTBD reduces guesswork in feature prioritization

Rather than relying solely on metrics like usage frequency or stakeholder opinion, JTBD empowers product teams to:

• Ground decisions in real customer motivations
• Balance technical cost against user value with more clarity
• Avoid cluttering your product with underused or misaligned features

For example, in a fictional scenario, a project management software company discovers that many users “hire” their tool to improve team accountability, not just task tracking. That insight may shift feature development toward better reporting, team workflows, and visibility – even if competitors are focusing on automation.

A roadmap driven by purpose – not guesswork

When product strategy aligns with clearly defined customer jobs, businesses can develop a more customer-centric product roadmap. Each new feature has a defined role in helping the user succeed, rather than existing as a standalone innovation. This eliminates guesswork and sharpens your team’s focus on meaningful improvements that drive business growth.

Incorporating JTBD into your feature prioritization process isn’t about changing your tools – it’s about changing your mindset. It’s a shift from features-first to outcomes-first, ensuring that every development decision serves a real-purpose job your customers care about most.

Understanding how the Jobs to Be Done framework can shape real decisions is key to appreciating its practical value. Let’s explore some fictional examples that illustrate how teams use JTBD insights for smarter feature prioritization during product development.

Example 1: Project Management Tool Focuses on Job, Not Just Functions

A small SaaS company offering a project management platform noticed growing competition. Rather than adding more task features based on competitors, the product team engaged in qualitative market research to uncover what users were actually trying to accomplish.

Through customer interviews, they discovered the primary job users needed to accomplish was “keeping my team aligned across multiple client projects.” This shifted their innovation strategy dramatically.

Instead of building more chat or file-sharing tools (which users were already getting elsewhere), they prioritized features like smart project overviews, shared goal tracking, and automated status updates. These decisions aligned closely with the user needs exposed through JTBD – making their product offer something purposefully different.

Example 2: Consumer Electronics Brand Prioritizes What Solves the Real Problem

A mid-size electronics company was designing a new smart home speaker. JTBD research revealed that customers weren’t just looking for better sound quality – their actual job was “creating a peaceful household routine.”

With that understanding, the team prioritized features like customizable wake-up routines, child-friendly content filters, and ambient light cues – all features that directly supported the job customers were hiring the product to do.

Takeaway: Job-Based Prioritization Aligns Products with People

These examples demonstrate that aligning with customer jobs can lead to unexpected, high-impact decisions in the product roadmap. JTBD helps organizations resist the urge to add “nice to have” features that don’t move the needle on what users actually care about. Instead, priorities are based on the value delivered, not just user requests or benchmarks.

• Less focus on feature quantity, more on function that meets the need
• Deeper alignment between product strategy and customer behavior
• Improved user satisfaction and long-term loyalty

By grounding decisions in the true job the product is being hired to do, businesses create offerings that feel intuitive, essential, and more likely to drive business growth.

When product decisions are based purely on internal brainstorming, competitor features, or even raw usage data, teams risk missing the bigger picture – what the customer truly needs. This is where the Jobs to Be Done framework stands out.

JTBD goes beyond surface-level feedback and reveals the core motivations behind behaviors. It directly connects feature prioritization to customer needs and business growth, offering a streamlined and purposeful way to build better products.

JTBD Eliminates Assumptions in Product Development

One of the strengths of JTBD is that it replaces guesswork with grounded insight. By identifying the core job a customer is trying to accomplish, product teams gain clarity on what matters most in the product experience.

Rather than building based on opinions or internal agendas, companies make decisions based on validated user needs. That translates to lower risk and higher return on innovation investment.

Prioritization Becomes Simpler and More Strategic

JTBD provides a clear lens for evaluating feature ideas. Instead of asking, “Would this be cool to launch?” teams ask, “Does this help the customer make progress on their job?” This shift de-risks decision-making and supports a better-aligned product roadmap.

As a result, companies can:

• Accelerate time-to-market for the right features
• Say no to low-impact requests with confidence
• Design entire experiences around the job, not individual features

Customer-Centered Thinking Fuels Loyalty and Growth

When customers feel a product solves their real problem – not just adds bells and whistles – they stay loyal. JTBD tightly links product development with the emotional and practical triggers behind buying decisions. That helps companies meet unspoken needs their competitors may overlook.

It’s also a more inclusive approach. JTBD methods often surface needs from users you might not hear from otherwise, helping organizations build more usable, valuable solutions across diverse customer groups.

At its core, JTBD equips teams to keep the customer at the center of innovation strategy. It's not just about getting features out the door, but ensuring each one helps someone achieve their goal – which is what leads to long-term business growth.

At SIVO Insights, we work with brands to translate deep human understanding into actionable product strategy. That includes helping teams apply the Jobs to Be Done framework in clear and practical ways that lead to growth.

Custom Research That Uncovers the Real Job

Every business is unique, and so are the jobs your customers are hiring your product to do. Our full-service custom research offerings combine qualitative depth and quantitative confidence to identify those core jobs and prioritize what matters most to your audience.

From stakeholder workshops to ethnographic interviews, we use a variety of market research methods to build a foundational understanding of the tasks, goals, and challenges your customer experiences. Then, we map those jobs into feature roadmaps with clarity and confidence.

Real Insights, Not Just Data

Using the JTBD framework isn’t about filling out a canvas or checking a box – it’s about unlocking insight that can guide your entire innovation strategy. At SIVO, we go deep to make the complex clear and provide user insights you can act on immediately:

• Which product features matter most – and why
• Where opportunities exist to differentiate
• Gaps between current experience and user goals

We also ensure your cross-functional teams understand these insights, with clear storytelling that bridges strategy and execution.

Flexible Support, Tailored to You

Whether you need a full-service research engagement or flexible On Demand Talent to support your internal team, SIVO can flex to match your needs. Our insight professionals bring real-world experience across industries and audience types, simplifying complexity into action.

Pairing human-centered research with the JTBD lens gives you more than a static product roadmap – it enables a dynamic, customer-centered growth path. That’s the SIVO difference.