The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is a method for understanding what drives customers to choose a product or service. Rather than focusing on demographics or basic preferences, JTBD zooms in on the job – the progress a person is trying to make in a given circumstance. In simple terms, it asks: What is the customer really trying to get done?

For example, someone doesn’t buy a drill because they want a drill – they buy it because they need to make a hole. The job is to hang a picture, mount a shelf, or secure furniture. JTBD helps uncover those root motivations so that businesses can design better solutions.

Why JTBD Matters for Product Roadmaps

When it comes to product planning, many roadmaps get filled with features based on assumptions, internal priorities, or competitive benchmarking. While these inputs aren’t wrong, they often fall short of connecting with what customers actually need to accomplish. That’s where JTBD becomes a compass.

By identifying the true "jobs" your customers are hiring your product to do, you can:

• Design features that solve meaningful problems
• Prioritize updates based on customer impact, not guesses
• Spot new opportunities for innovation
• Avoid investing in features that may be irrelevant or unused

This leads to a more customer-aligned product strategy and better market fit. It also gives cross-functional teams – from design to engineering to marketing – a shared understanding of what success means for the user.

A Different Kind of Market Research

Traditional market research often identifies who customers are. JTBD dives into why they act the way they do. It complements demographic and behavioral data by linking it to a purpose or motivation. This helps teams shape not just a product, but the entire experience around what the customer is trying to achieve.

In practical terms, JTBD-informed product development can reduce costly missteps. For instance, a fictional productivity app might realize through JTBD interviews that users aren’t just looking for task management – they’re looking to feel in control of their busy day. That small insight could realign the roadmap toward features that promote clarity, calm, and quick wins – rather than just advanced scheduling tools.

As a result, JTBD serves as the foundation for building a roadmap that isn’t feature-led, but outcome-led. It focuses the team on what moves the needle for the customer – and in turn, what moves the business forward.

One of the biggest advantages of using the JTBD framework is its ability to reveal deeper, more actionable customer needs. While many planning tools focus on what users say they want or how they behave, JTBD uncovers the underlying motivations for those actions. This leads to more insightful product strategy and stronger problem-solution fit.

Looking Beyond Surface-Level Wants

Customers will often request specific features (“Add a faster checkout option,” “Give me more filters”), but these inputs don’t always point to the true job. JTBD reframes the question from “What do customers want?” to “What job are they trying to get done in their life or work?”

Understanding the context, obstacles, and desired outcomes gives you a clearer picture of where your product fits in. It helps separate the details from the driving force.

User Stories with Purpose

Let’s say, for example, that a streaming platform (fictional, used for simplicity) discovers through JTBD interviews that users aren’t just watching content for entertainment – they use it to wind down after a stressful day. The true job isn't entertainment, but creating a moment of relaxation. That insight can lead the team to prioritize content discovery features that reduce mental overload, like mood-based browsing or a "relax playlist" function.

These are different solutions than what might come from tracking clicks or feature requests alone. With JTBD, product development becomes tuned to outcomes that carry emotional or functional meaning. This enables more focused innovation strategy around what really matters to users.

Bridging the Gap Between Data and Empathy

Unlike some frameworks that rely heavily on numeric data points, Jobs to Be Done pairs qualitative insights with practical application. It brings together the richness of human stories and the clarity of structured analysis. This makes JTBD especially effective when used as part of broader market research for product roadmap planning.

At SIVO Insights, we often see how pairing customer insights with frameworks like JTBD helps organizations uncover not just what to build next but why. It creates alignment between business goals and real customer experiences – the kind of alignment that leads to lasting business growth.

In Summary

Understanding customer jobs is more than a research tactic – it's a powerful way to guide product development. It helps you:

• Discover what motivates your users beyond surface behavior
• Clarify which problems are most important to solve
• Create features and experiences that connect with real-life goals

By leveraging the JTBD framework, you move from guessing what customers want to knowing what they truly need. That knowledge allows you to shape your product roadmap, not just around features – but around meaningful impact.

Connect Product Planning with Real Customer Jobs

One of the most powerful aspects of using the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework in product development is that it puts the customer’s motivations at the center of every decision. Instead of focusing purely on features, timelines, or market trends, a JTBD-driven product roadmap asks: “What is the customer trying to get done, and how can we help them do it better?”

This change in focus helps product teams build roadmaps that solve real problems – not just perceived ones. It means every item on your roadmap is tied to a concrete job customers are trying to accomplish, making your product strategy clearer, more impactful, and more aligned with long-term business growth.

From Features to Functions That Matter

Traditional product roadmaps often start with ideas or internal priorities. A market opportunity appears, a competitor launches something new, or an internal team has a pet project. The result? Features that may be interesting, but not always useful to your customers.

With JTBD, however, you flip the script. You begin with an understanding of what your customers are really trying to achieve in their daily lives or workflows. Then, you prioritize product initiatives that remove friction, fill gaps, or enhance those experiences.

How to Prioritize Using JTBD Criteria

Here’s a simple way to apply JTBD thinking to product roadmap planning:

• Identify high-priority Jobs to Be Done through research and customer interviews.
• Group customer pain points or unmet needs related to those jobs.
• Evaluate potential roadmap initiatives based on how directly they support one of those jobs.
• Rank potential solutions by effort vs. impact – giving more weight to solutions that fulfill the most important jobs.

When you use this kind of criteria, you're no longer guessing what customers need – you’re targeting real functions they’re asking for, often in their own words.

A JTBD Roadmap in Action

Say your company makes a mobile budgeting app. Through JTBD research, you learn that a major customer job isn’t just “track expenses,” but “feel in control of finances at the end of each month.” This insight gives context for roadmap decisions. Instead of just adding more expense categories, your team might prioritize features like predictive cash flow tools or smart alerts for overspending. Your product now solves a deeper, more emotional need – and does so in a way that’s meaningful to your users.

By building with JTBD insights, you reduce wasted development time and ensure your product solves problems that customers truly care about. That’s key for sustainable product strategy and continued innovation.

Turning Customer Motivations into Growth Opportunities

The real strength of the JTBD framework comes into focus when you look at how it can fuel business growth and innovation. By revealing what customers are really trying to achieve – and where existing solutions fall short – companies can uncover hidden opportunities to differentiate, delight, and scale.

Let’s explore a few fictional examples that illustrate how using JTBD to build better products can lead to smarter decisions and stronger market positions.

Example 1: Health Tech – Sleep Tracking

A company offers a fitness wearable that tracks sleep duration. But customer feedback consistently shows limited satisfaction with the feature. Through JTBD-based interviews, the team uncovers a deeper job: “Help me feel rested and energized during my workday.” Suddenly, the scope expands. It’s not just about sleep data – it’s about outcomes.

This insight leads the team to develop personalized sleep coaching features, integrate stress tracking, and give actionable tips. Customer satisfaction and daily engagement rise significantly – helping the product stand out in a crowded category.

Example 2: B2B Software – Project Management Tools

A SaaS company notices that although customers continue renewing their licenses, actual usage of their project planning component is dropping. They apply a JTBD lens and realize customers aren’t buying “task trackers” – they’re hiring the software to “help my team deliver quality work on time.”

Based on this, they redesign their timeline view, add progress nudges, and integrate resource forecasting tools. The result is stronger positioning in the enterprise space and increased conversion rates from free to paid tiers.

JTBD Helps Spot Innovation Opportunities

By identifying overlooked customer jobs – especially those that carry emotional weight or high friction – businesses can:

• Design features that solve real-world issues more effectively
• Create messaging that speaks directly to what customers want to achieve
• Find adjacent markets where similar jobs exist
• Expand product offerings by bundling solutions that serve the full job, not just part of it

Following the JTBD method doesn’t just improve current product performance – it provides a roadmap for where the product (and the company) can grow next.

Bringing Together Frameworks and Findings for Impact

While the JTBD framework gives you a structured way to think about customer motivations, pairing it with comprehensive market research creates even greater value. This combination brings together the “why” behind customer behavior with the “how” of data-backed decision-making.

On a practical level, using both means you can surface new jobs to be done through qualitative research and then validate them at scale with quantitative methods. It transforms customer insights into actionable product strategies that are both empathetic and evidence-based.

Why Pair JTBD with Market Research?

Market research captures nuanced feedback, competitive landscape data, buyer behavior, and emerging trends. JTBD adds clarity to what your customers are trying to accomplish. Together, they allow companies to:

• Understand the full context of customer pain points and unmet needs
• Prioritize opportunities based on real-world value, not assumptions
• Test messaging and product features that align with customer language and intent
• Develop long-term product strategies rooted in deep understanding

For example, say you’re exploring a new feature for parents within a learning app. JTBD interviews reveal the job “help me feel confident I’m preparing my child for the future.” Market research then helps you understand which specific tools parents trust most, how various audiences define preparation, and what gaps exist in current alternatives. That insight shapes your roadmap and helps you craft messaging that resonates.

Tailoring JTBD Research for Your Business

At SIVO Insights, we’ve seen how combining growth frameworks like JTBD with tailored research methods leads to more meaningful, actionable intelligence. From moderated interviews to large-scale surveys, we adjust our approach based on your goals – whether you're launching something new or refining an existing roadmap.

And whether your business is consumer-facing or B2B, early-stage or enterprise, aligning product strategy with both JTBD logic and robust market research gives your teams a shared language for decision-making. It removes guesswork and ensures that every product direction is rooted in what your customers actually want – not what you think they want.

That’s the path to better products, happier customers, and stronger returns on innovation.