Growth Frameworks
Jobs To Be Done

How to Use Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) in Product Development Sprints

Qualitative Exploration

How to Use Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) in Product Development Sprints

Introduction

Product teams today move fast. Between planning sprints, running standups, managing backlogs, and hosting design reviews, time is always in short supply. Staying connected to real customer needs and building features that matter most can feel like a luxury – or something to “get to later.” But what if there's a way to bring customer insight into every step of your product cycle without slowing things down? The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework offers exactly that. JTBD helps teams clarify what customers are actually trying to accomplish when they use your product – the “job” they’re hiring your solution to do. Rather than just collecting user preferences or demographics, JTBD uncovers the why behind customer behavior. And when applied consistently, it keeps everyone from product managers to designers grounded in real human needs – not just assumptions.
This blog post is designed for product managers, UX researchers, designers, and anyone involved in building experiences that deliver real value. Whether you're new to JTBD or you've heard of it but aren't sure how it fits into your workflow, this guide will show you simple and practical ways to get started. Instead of treating JTBD as a “research phase” that happens before design begins, we’ll show you how to embed JTBD thinking directly into agile product development – from sprint planning and backlog grooming to design reviews. You'll learn how to:
  • Use JTBD insights to prioritize features in your product backlog
  • Keep product reviews grounded in customer outcomes, not just functionality
  • Ensure sprints stay aligned with the progress real users are trying to make
By the end of this post, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to apply JTBD in agile product development, using practical examples and tips that make integration feel natural – not like extra overhead. If you’re looking for a user-centered way to improve team focus, strengthen product decisions, and stay rooted in real-world customer needs, read on.
This blog post is designed for product managers, UX researchers, designers, and anyone involved in building experiences that deliver real value. Whether you're new to JTBD or you've heard of it but aren't sure how it fits into your workflow, this guide will show you simple and practical ways to get started. Instead of treating JTBD as a “research phase” that happens before design begins, we’ll show you how to embed JTBD thinking directly into agile product development – from sprint planning and backlog grooming to design reviews. You'll learn how to:
  • Use JTBD insights to prioritize features in your product backlog
  • Keep product reviews grounded in customer outcomes, not just functionality
  • Ensure sprints stay aligned with the progress real users are trying to make
By the end of this post, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to apply JTBD in agile product development, using practical examples and tips that make integration feel natural – not like extra overhead. If you’re looking for a user-centered way to improve team focus, strengthen product decisions, and stay rooted in real-world customer needs, read on.

Why Product Teams Should Integrate JTBD into Their Development Process

Building successful digital products requires focus – not only on what features to build, but also on why you're building them. The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework brings clarity to that question by shifting the conversation away from surface-level needs and toward the deeper progress users are trying to make in their lives. By integrating the JTBD framework directly into your development process, product teams can maintain a strong connection between everyday decisions and customer outcomes. Rather than relying solely on hunches, preferences, or past performance data, JTBD encourages product managers and designers to deeply understand their users’ motivations. That insight leads to better decision-making at every stage of the product cycle.

JTBD aligns teams around real-world outcomes

Most product teams are juggling dozens of competing priorities – stakeholder requests, technical constraints, and new feature ideas. Embedding JTBD into your process can function as a north star, helping teams ask, “Is this feature helping a user accomplish the job they hired us for?” When everyone is clear on what the user is really trying to achieve, roadmap conversations become simpler. It’s no longer about which feature is “coolest” or who requested it – it’s about which solutions best support the customer’s desired outcome.

Better prioritization and reduced rework

Many teams struggle to decide which features to build next or how to evolve a product over time. By incorporating customer insights drawn from JTBD research into your decision-making, you start focusing on jobs that matter most to your users. This reduces waste, limits second-guessing, and can decrease the number of pivots or re-dos after shipping.

JTBD complements existing research and workflows

It’s important to note that JTBD doesn’t replace formal user experience research or large-scale market studies – instead, it complements these tools. For example, insights generated through qualitative interviews or surveys can be reframed through a JTBD lens to inform sprint priorities or product specs. Teams can also pair JTBD with quantitative research to validate how many users share a particular job or unmet need.

JTBD benefits anyone involved in product management

Whether you’re a startup founder, a product manager, or a UX designer, the JTBD approach helps you:
  • Understand what the customer is really trying to get done
  • Develop clearer product strategies that solve for actual needs
  • Uncover opportunities for innovation by identifying underserved jobs
  • Reduce the gap between insights, design, and development
Above all, Jobs To Be Done gives product teams a shared language to evaluate choices – a major asset in agile sprints, backlog grooming sessions, and cross-functional reviews. In the next section, we’ll dive into one of the most practical starting points: using JTBD insights to organize and prioritize your product backlog.

Using JTBD Insights to Prioritize Your Product Backlog

One of the biggest challenges in product management is deciding what to build next. Backlogs tend to grow over time, packed with feature requests, tech debt tasks, and stakeholder suggestions. Without a clear prioritization method, teams risk focusing on solutions that don’t move the needle for real customers. This is where Jobs To Be Done can add real value. JTBD helps you reframe your backlog from a list of tasks to a list of opportunities to help users make meaningful progress. By applying JTBD insights during grooming sessions, you surface the items that directly solve real user problems – and deprioritize those that don’t.

Rewriting backlog items using the JTBD lens

Instead of writing backlog items focused on features or internal goals, try reframing them using the structure of a job story: “When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].” For example, instead of:
  • “Add onboarding checklist”
You might reframe it as:
  • “When I’m logging in for the first time, I want guidance on what to do next, so I can quickly get value from the product.”
This approach keeps the team focused not only on what to build, but why it matters to the user. During backlog grooming sessions, stories written in this way can be evaluated based on how closely they align with core customer jobs.

Prioritizing high-impact jobs

Jobs To Be Done helps identify which customer problems are most critical, frequent, or underserved. These insights become a natural filter for prioritizing work. For each backlog item, ask:
  • Does it help users complete a high-priority job?
  • Does it improve the experience of a struggling moment?
  • Does it support a job where customers currently use workarounds?
By focusing development effort on these areas, product teams can deliver faster value with fewer resources – building trust and momentum across the organization.

JTBD brings context into sprint planning

During sprint planning, JTBD insights can help your team see beyond “tickets” and instead think in terms of user progress. For example, grouping tasks by related jobs makes it easier to assess whether an upcoming sprint actually delivers end-to-end value to the customer. This mindset not only boosts collaboration between product and design, but also builds empathy on engineering teams who can better understand the impact of what they’re building.

A better way to evaluate feature requests

It’s common for teams to field requests from stakeholders that may not align with customer priorities. JTBD gives product managers a reasoning framework. Instead of simply saying “no,” you can say: “We’ve identified that most of our users are trying to [core job], and this request doesn’t directly support that. Let’s revisit it when we explore jobs related to [secondary task].” This response is respectful and data-driven – a hallmark of strong product leadership. In short, applying Jobs To Be Done in backlog grooming helps make prioritization more strategic, less reactive, and more grounded in user reality. Up next, we’ll look at how to bring that same approach to design reviews – to ensure what’s being built stays true to your user’s core goals.

How to Incorporate JTBD into Agile Sprints and Standups

Agile development is all about iteration, speed, and flexibility. But too often, teams lose sight of the customer while moving quickly from one sprint to the next. Integrating Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) into agile sprints and daily standups provides a practical way to keep product development aligned with core customer needs, even during fast-paced execution cycles.

Bring Customer Jobs into Sprint Planning

One of the simplest JTBD implementation tips for product teams is to translate customer jobs directly into user stories or epics. Instead of writing vague backlog items like “improve onboarding,” reframe them based on the job the user is trying to accomplish — such as “help new users quickly set up their first project to feel confident in the tool.” This keeps the focus on the goal, not just the feature.

During sprint planning, refer back to your JTBD framework. Use it to prioritize work that measurably contributes to helping customers complete their desired jobs.

Key ways to do this include:

  • Tagging backlog items with relevant Job Drivers
  • Using a simple “job alignment” score (1–5) to evaluate impact
  • Ensuring jobs are visible on boards or sprint summary decks

Use JTBD Language in Daily Standups

Daily standups are often focused on internal progress – what was done yesterday, what’s next, and blockers. But a small adjustment can make them more customer-centered. Try incorporating one JTBD touchpoint into each team member’s update:

For example: “Yesterday, I debugged the signup flow to better support the job of ‘getting started fast without frustration.’ I’ll test new validation today so users don’t get stuck.”

This slight change trains teams to connect technical work back to the broader objective – improving the user's experience based on their unmet needs.

Example: JTBD in Action During a Sprint

Let’s look at a real example. A product team building a team collaboration app identified a key job: “Coordinate work across remote teammates with clarity.” During a sprint, they linked every story to this job. When tickets about notification systems surfaced, the team prioritized a feature that allowed users to set custom “available” times — directly improving that coordination job.

By embedding JTBD into agile sprints and daily conversations, product teams don’t need to pause for research. They can make small, continuous decisions that stay aligned with what customers actually hire the product to do.

Running Better Design Reviews with JTBD in Mind

Design reviews are a critical checkpoint in product development, but they can easily become focused on aesthetics and usability alone. By incorporating the JTBD framework into these reviews, teams ensure that every design is evaluated not just for looks or functionality — but for how well it solves the customer’s underlying problem.

Start with the Job, Not the Feature

Before jumping into screens and color palettes, ground the conversation in the customer insight. What job is the user trying to get done? For example, instead of starting with “Here’s the updated dashboard layout,” have the designer frame it with: “This design supports the job ‘monitor team progress at a glance to reduce manager stress.’”

This orients the conversation around outcomes and clarifies the design rationale for everyone in the room — product managers, developers, and stakeholders alike.

Evaluate Designs Through a JTBD Lens

Once grounded in a job, review the design elements by asking specific JTBD-aligned questions:

  • Does this design reduce friction in completing the job?
  • Are we supporting emotional drivers associated with the job (e.g., feeling in control)?
  • Could this design unintentionally introduce new anxieties or barriers?

Evaluating design through these questions brings nuance to discussions that might otherwise rest on personal opinions. It also helps teams focus on real-world context — not just ideal flows.

Case in Point: A Simple Job Shift

Let’s say your UX team is redesigning an insurance claim form. Previously you framed its purpose as “Submitting a claim.” But through user experience research and JTBD interviews, you discover the truer job is: “Regain financial stability when something unexpected happens.” That small but powerful shift leads the team to add empathetic guidance text, status indicators, and faster submission feedback to relieve anxiety — all driven by job-based insight.

When design reviews consider these deeper drivers, the resulting choices are often stronger, more human-centered, and more impactful. Aligning visuals and interaction patterns with JTBD keeps your team focused on what matters to users beyond surface utility.

Practical JTBD Tools and Templates for Everyday Use

You don’t need to launch a large-scale research project every time you want to use JTBD. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of this framework is how easily it can be broken down into practical tools and templates that guide daily product decisions.

Lightweight JTBD Templates for Product Managers

Here are a few helpful formats that product managers can use to embed JTBD thinking into different parts of the workflow:

User Story with JTBD Context

Example:

“As a remote manager (persona), I want to set daily standup reminders (feature), so I can reduce scattered communication (job-to-be-done).”

Adding this extra line of context to tickets or user stories helps orient developers and designers around real goals, not just technical specs.

Backlog Grooming Grid

Create a simple prioritization matrix with two axes: job criticality and job satisfaction. Plot every feature or fix according to how well it supports an important job, and how well (or poorly) that job is currently being met. High-criticality/low-satisfaction items become clear priorities.

JTBD “Job Card” Template

Use a one-pager to document each core customer job your product supports. Include:

  • Job Statement: What the user is trying to achieve
  • Triggers: When/why the job arises
  • Success Criteria: How they define a good outcome
  • Pain Points: Where existing solutions fall short
  • Emotional Drivers: How users want to feel

Post these around your workspace, virtual or physical, to keep teams anchored in the user perspective.

Making JTBD a Habit, Not a Phase

These tools aren’t meant to replace robust user insight work when it’s needed. But in between major sprints or formal research phases, these everyday templates make it easier to stay grounded in the customer. Embedding JTBD into daily product work helps teams stay aligned, clarify purpose, and ultimately, make more confident product decisions.

Summary

Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) isn't just a research framework — it's a lens that helps teams stay customer-focused across every stage of product development. From prioritizing your product backlog around user needs, to aligning agile sprints with real-world jobs, to running design reviews that go beyond aesthetics, JTBD empowers product teams to anchor their work in what matters most: the outcomes people are trying to achieve.

Whether you're using JTBD to refine your roadmap or guide daily standups, the key is consistency and simplicity. Small shifts — using job language in user stories, running backlog grooming with job-criticality grids, or applying JTBD in UX workflows — can lead to more thoughtful, relevant, and user-aligned products.

By integrating customer insights into sprint planning, design evaluations, and roadmap planning, you'll build stronger alignment across teams and deliver solutions that truly fit the lives and needs of your users.

Summary

Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) isn't just a research framework — it's a lens that helps teams stay customer-focused across every stage of product development. From prioritizing your product backlog around user needs, to aligning agile sprints with real-world jobs, to running design reviews that go beyond aesthetics, JTBD empowers product teams to anchor their work in what matters most: the outcomes people are trying to achieve.

Whether you're using JTBD to refine your roadmap or guide daily standups, the key is consistency and simplicity. Small shifts — using job language in user stories, running backlog grooming with job-criticality grids, or applying JTBD in UX workflows — can lead to more thoughtful, relevant, and user-aligned products.

By integrating customer insights into sprint planning, design evaluations, and roadmap planning, you'll build stronger alignment across teams and deliver solutions that truly fit the lives and needs of your users.

In this article

Why Product Teams Should Integrate JTBD into Their Development Process
Using JTBD Insights to Prioritize Your Product Backlog
How to Incorporate JTBD into Agile Sprints and Standups
Running Better Design Reviews with JTBD in Mind
Practical JTBD Tools and Templates for Everyday Use

In this article

Why Product Teams Should Integrate JTBD into Their Development Process
Using JTBD Insights to Prioritize Your Product Backlog
How to Incorporate JTBD into Agile Sprints and Standups
Running Better Design Reviews with JTBD in Mind
Practical JTBD Tools and Templates for Everyday Use

Last updated: May 29, 2025

Curious how JTBD-informed insights can accelerate your next product sprint?

Curious how JTBD-informed insights can accelerate your next product sprint?

Curious how JTBD-informed insights can accelerate your next product sprint?

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