Growth Frameworks
Jobs To Be Done

How to Build a Product Roadmap with Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)

Qualitative Exploration

How to Build a Product Roadmap with Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)

Introduction

When building a product roadmap, it's easy to fall into the trap of focusing on features. What should we build next? What’s trending in our category? What are competitors doing? While these questions get the conversation going, they often steer teams toward solutions before understanding the real problem. The result? A product roadmap that looks impressive on paper – but fails to connect with what customers are truly looking for. This is where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework comes in. Instead of guessing what features might drive adoption or loyalty, JTBD shifts the focus to the underlying goals and situations that prompt users to “hire” a product in the first place. By understanding what job your product is being hired to do, teams can move beyond features and start building meaningful solutions that meet real customer needs.
This post is designed for product managers, innovation leads, and business teams who are looking to strengthen their product strategy by becoming more customer-centric. Whether you’re leading your first product roadmap planning session or searching for more effective frameworks to guide feature prioritization, Jobs To Be Done can provide powerful clarity. By the end of this post, you'll understand how JTBD works, why traditional roadmaps often fall short, and how to apply JTBD thinking across your roadmapping tools and processes. We’ll cover how this framework helps bridge the gap between user problems and product solutions – ultimately leading to better innovation strategies and more successful product development. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a product roadmap that resonates with your audience, or you’re seeking ways to connect product decisions to genuine customer needs, this guide will walk you through exactly how JTBD thinking can reshape your approach.
This post is designed for product managers, innovation leads, and business teams who are looking to strengthen their product strategy by becoming more customer-centric. Whether you’re leading your first product roadmap planning session or searching for more effective frameworks to guide feature prioritization, Jobs To Be Done can provide powerful clarity. By the end of this post, you'll understand how JTBD works, why traditional roadmaps often fall short, and how to apply JTBD thinking across your roadmapping tools and processes. We’ll cover how this framework helps bridge the gap between user problems and product solutions – ultimately leading to better innovation strategies and more successful product development. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a product roadmap that resonates with your audience, or you’re seeking ways to connect product decisions to genuine customer needs, this guide will walk you through exactly how JTBD thinking can reshape your approach.

Why Traditional Product Roadmaps Often Miss the Mark

Product roadmaps are critical tools for aligning teams, communicating strategy, and guiding development priorities. But despite their importance, many roadmaps end up being more about internal assumptions and feature wish lists than about real customer value. In fact, one of the most common pitfalls in roadmap planning is the focus on what to build – without a strong understanding of the why behind each decision.

Common Pitfalls in Roadmap Planning

Traditional product roadmaps tend to fall into predictable patterns, often shaped by:

  • Feature-chasing: Adding features based on competitor behavior rather than customer need
  • Stakeholder pressure: Prioritizing executive ideas without enough input from real users
  • Tech-led thinking: Building what’s possible, not necessarily what’s desirable or useful
  • Short-term wins: Planning around short-term growth metrics at the expense of long-term strategy

On paper, these roadmaps may look structured and even innovative. But when products launch and miss the mark, the root issue is often the same: the roadmap wasn’t designed around customer needs. It was built around outputs – not outcomes.

Not Just What You Build, But Why

A roadmap should be more than a timeline of upcoming features. It should reflect your innovation strategy, grounded in a deep understanding of the people you serve. When a roadmap fails to do that, it becomes reactive instead of strategic. Teams build more, but not necessarily better. Time and resources get spent solving the wrong problems.

This is where frameworks like Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) bring crucial value. By shifting the focus from features to functions – from product ideas to user goals – JTBD brings clarity and purpose to product development. It helps ensure your roadmap doesn't just keep you busy, but actually drives real progress for your customers.

Why This Matters

When a roadmap misses the mark, the consequences add up quickly:

  • Wasted development time on low-impact features
  • Low adoption or engagement due to misaligned solutions
  • Confused teams with shifting priorities
  • Missed opportunities to lead your market through innovation

Ultimately, if you’re not thinking deeply about your customers’ underlying jobs, you run the risk of building a product that gets refined – but never truly redefined. That’s where JTBD steps in as a powerful planning tool.

How Jobs To Be Done Helps You Prioritize the Right Features

The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is all about understanding why customers make the choices they do – not just what they choose. It focuses on the progress someone is trying to make in a particular situation. In other words, what “job” they’re trying to get done. When incorporated into roadmap planning, JTBD gives teams a lens for prioritizing features based on how well they serve these real-world jobs.

Breaking Down JTBD Thinking

At its core, JTBD starts with a simple question: What is the customer trying to accomplish? This applies across industries and product types. Whether it’s a busy professional hiring a food delivery app to save time after work, or a small business owner choosing a payment system to simplify invoicing, people “hire” products to solve specific problems or achieve desired outcomes.

By organizing your product roadmap around these jobs – rather than just tech features or timelines – you gain a clearer view into:

  • What truly matters to your customers
  • Which solutions deliver the most impact
  • Where unmet needs offer opportunities for innovation

Translating JTBD Into Product Roadmap Decisions

So, how do you go from theory to practice? Start by identifying your customers’ core jobs through qualitative research, interviews, or observation – methods that get into their world, not just their preferences. From there, align each proposed feature on your roadmap to a job it supports.

Here's how JTBD can inform feature prioritization:

  • Urgency: Which jobs are most pressing for your users?
  • Frequency: Are these jobs occurring regularly, or are they one-off needs?
  • Satisfaction gap: Are users struggling with how they get this job done today?
  • Strategic fit: Does addressing this job align with your larger product strategy?

For example, let’s say you're developing a team collaboration tool. Instead of defaulting to building a new chat module, JTBD insights might reveal that users actually struggle with version control during brainstorming. That insight could shift your priorities toward tools that make document collaboration visible and trackable – a better job match, rooted in real-world need.

Benefits for Teams and Innovation Strategy

Using JTBD to drive your product frameworks creates alignment across cross-functional teams. Designers, engineers, marketers, and executives all refer to the same core customer jobs, fostering clarity and reducing guesswork. For startups especially, JTBD can shape a more focused and customer-centric roadmap strategy, helping to allocate resources wisely.

Customer-First, Feature-Second

Ultimately, prioritizing with JTBD reinforces a mindset shift: focus on the outcomes your users seek, not just the outputs you can deliver. This shift leads to higher-impact product decisions and more relevant, purposeful roadmaps.

When a roadmap is built around the jobs your product is hired to do, it becomes more than just a development schedule – it becomes a path toward true customer value and durable innovation.

Connecting JTBD to Each Stage of the Product Roadmap

The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework connects directly to every phase of your product development process, from initial discovery through post-launch refinement. This connection ensures that your product roadmap is not just a collection of features, but a strategic plan grounded in solving real customer problems. Let’s look at how JTBD aligns with each stage of the product roadmap.

1. Discovery Stage: Understanding the Job

At the outset, JTBD research helps uncover unmet customer needs by exploring the core tasks users are trying to accomplish. Instead of assuming what people want, product teams use deep customer insights – often gathered through qualitative interviews or observational studies – to understand the outcomes users are seeking.

For example, a user may not want 'a more customizable dashboard' – their actual 'job' might be 'quickly track performance metrics to make daily decisions.' With JTBD, you’re anchoring your roadmap in real goals, not assumptions.

2. Prioritization Stage: Mapping Jobs to Features

Once jobs are identified, JTBD acts as a lens to evaluate feature ideas. Instead of prioritizing features based on internal opinions, product teams ask: “Which job does this solve? Is this outcome underserved? How important is this job to our target user?”

  • Focus your planning on high-impact, high-priority customer jobs.
  • Deprioritize features that don’t clearly connect to desired outcomes.
  • Align stakeholder discussions around solving jobs, not adding features.

3. Development Stage: Designing for Outcomes

During development, JTBD keeps teams focused on delivering the right solution, not just building the thing right. Development and design decisions tie back to the job – which shapes user flows, feature functionality, and UI choices.

For example, if a job is “learn about skincare products without feeling judged,” then a clean, educational UX with privacy-first options becomes a design must-have.

4. Iteration and Measurement: Evaluating Against Jobs

Post-launch, your version 1 product is tested not just for usability, but for effectiveness at solving the job. Customer feedback loops, usage data, and JTBD-aligned metrics help evaluate product performance. This ongoing measurement helps refine future roadmap priorities and ensures continuous alignment with evolving customer needs.

By embedding JTBD into roadmap planning tools and decision frameworks, product teams can stay anchored to what matters most: delivering meaningful customer outcomes. Connecting JTBD to each stage of your product roadmap transforms product development into a purpose-driven process, not just a sequence of deliverables.

Implementing JTBD in Your Product Strategy Step-by-Step

If you’re new to using the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework as part of your product strategy, don’t worry – the process is approachable and scalable. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to help you embed JTBD thinking into your roadmap planning and prioritize features that truly serve your users’ needs.

Step 1: Identify Your Target User Segments

JTBD starts with understanding who your users are – but not just by demographics. Define your audience based on the contexts and situations in which they interact with your product. Ask: When do they use it? What goals are they trying to achieve?

Step 2: Conduct Job Discovery Research

This is where qualitative research shines. Through user interviews, diary studies, or ethnographic observation, uncover the “why” behind user behavior. What are users trying to get done? What frustrations do they face today? What workarounds show unmet needs?

Use this input to define a set of core jobs, making sure they’re outcome-focused statements (e.g., “Quickly gather insights to run a team meeting”).

Step 3: Prioritize Jobs by Importance and Satisfaction

Not all jobs are created equal. Use structured feedback or surveys to rank each job on two axes – how important it is to the user and how satisfied they are with current solutions. Target jobs that are important but poorly served – these are prime innovation opportunities.

Step 4: Translate Jobs into Roadmap Opportunities

Now, map jobs to potential roadmap items. Each feature idea should link directly to a job. Use this connection to build a customer-centric product roadmap that prioritizes needs over nice-to-haves.

  • Ask: How does this feature solve a job?
  • Will solving this job create measurable value for the user?
  • Does this job align with our innovation strategy?

Step 5: Test and Iterate with the JTBD Lens

Once live, evaluate how well your product performs the job. Customer satisfaction, job completion metrics, and usability data become critical inputs for your roadmap’s next phase. This ongoing loop keeps your product development dynamic and grounded in real-world use.

By grounding product planning in the JTBD framework, you develop a roadmap strategy that works for startups and established teams alike – one that translates customer needs into clear, actionable steps toward innovation.

Examples of JTBD-Driven Product Roadmaps That Work

Applying the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework to your roadmap isn’t just theory – it’s a proven practice embraced by successful companies across industries. Let's look at a few simplified examples that illustrate how JTBD creates clarity and impact in roadmap planning:

Example 1: Productivity App – Helping Users Manage Time

A startup building a productivity platform interviewed users and uncovered a key job: “Feel in control of my day without mental overload.”

Typically, the team had focused on adding new features like integrations or aesthetics. But through JTBD research, the roadmap shifted to prioritize:

  • A smart prioritization assistant that auto-organizes tasks based on goals
  • Clutter-reducing UX updates for focused views
  • Performance insights that help users reflect and improve over time

By building their product roadmap around this single job, they improved retention and user satisfaction – outcomes that directly matched their innovation strategy.

Example 2: Personal Finance App – Making Money Less Intimidating

For a finance startup, the job wasn’t just “track my expenses.” It was “feel confident making decisions about my money.” That small but important shift transformed their product planning.

The team moved away from surface-level dashboards and prioritized features that educated users, such as:

  • Scenario simulators (e.g., “What if I save $200 per month?”)
  • Contextual advice embedded into transaction history
  • Step-by-step goal planning tools

Each feature directly tied to the emotional and functional outcomes behind the user’s decision-making job.

Example 3: B2B SaaS – Enabling Fast Team Collaboration

A SaaS collaboration platform served mid-size teams struggling to stay in sync. Their JTBD research exposed a critical job: “Quickly coordinate across departments without email back-and-forth.”

This focused the roadmap around:

  • Shared spaces with drag-and-drop permissions
  • @Mentions that suggested relevant stakeholders automatically
  • Real-time sync with common project management tools

Even though competitors had more “features,” the JTBD roadmap ensured differentiation through solving the most important customer outcome.

These real-world JTBD product roadmap examples show the framework in action: focusing development on meaningful outcomes, de-risking investments, and driving product-market fit. It’s a strategy that works whether you’re launching a startup or scaling a mature solution.

Summary

Traditional product roadmaps often focus on features, not outcomes – leading teams to build what’s easiest, not what’s most useful. That’s where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework shines. By uncovering the real goals your customers are trying to achieve, JTBD helps product managers prioritize high-impact features and make smarter, insight-driven decisions at every stage.

In this post, we explored how JTBD grounds your roadmap in authentic customer needs, connects research to real product opportunities, and guides long-term innovation strategy. From step-by-step implementation guidance to real-life roadmap examples, it’s clear that JTBD is more than a framework – it’s a mindset shift towards customer-centric product planning.

Summary

Traditional product roadmaps often focus on features, not outcomes – leading teams to build what’s easiest, not what’s most useful. That’s where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework shines. By uncovering the real goals your customers are trying to achieve, JTBD helps product managers prioritize high-impact features and make smarter, insight-driven decisions at every stage.

In this post, we explored how JTBD grounds your roadmap in authentic customer needs, connects research to real product opportunities, and guides long-term innovation strategy. From step-by-step implementation guidance to real-life roadmap examples, it’s clear that JTBD is more than a framework – it’s a mindset shift towards customer-centric product planning.

In this article

Why Traditional Product Roadmaps Often Miss the Mark
How Jobs To Be Done Helps You Prioritize the Right Features
Connecting JTBD to Each Stage of the Product Roadmap
Implementing JTBD in Your Product Strategy Step-by-Step
Examples of JTBD-Driven Product Roadmaps That Work

In this article

Why Traditional Product Roadmaps Often Miss the Mark
How Jobs To Be Done Helps You Prioritize the Right Features
Connecting JTBD to Each Stage of the Product Roadmap
Implementing JTBD in Your Product Strategy Step-by-Step
Examples of JTBD-Driven Product Roadmaps That Work

Last updated: May 24, 2025

Curious how a JTBD-driven roadmap can support your product’s success?

Curious how a JTBD-driven roadmap can support your product’s success?

Curious how a JTBD-driven roadmap can support your product’s success?

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