Surveys and usability tests have long been essential tools for understanding customer preferences and product performance. They excel at gathering quantitative data, measuring satisfaction, and identifying usability issues. But despite their strengths, they are not designed to explain why people behave the way they do – which is often what teams really need in order to innovate.

What surveys and usability tests do well

Surveys are great for collecting structured, large-scale data. You can benchmark satisfaction, test brand recall, or prioritize features based on user preferences. Usability testing, on the other hand, allows you to observe user behavior as they interact with a product, pinpointing friction points or design flaws.

But here's where they fall short:

 
• Lack of context: Surveys often present choices out of context. Respondents may answer based on what sounds good rather than what they truly do in real-world situations.
 
• Surface-level responses: Most usability tests highlight where a user gets stuck, but not necessarily why they’re using the product at all. They focus on mechanics, not motivation.
 
• Limited insight into decision-making: Surveys rarely capture the nuance of what triggered someone to start seeking a new solution or what emotional or practical need they are trying to fulfill.

This is especially true for innovation teams trying to uncover emerging needs or design breakthrough solutions. Traditional methods can tell you how a product performs, but not necessarily why a customer chose it – or what would make them switch to something else.

Why JTBD adds deeper insight

Jobs to Be Done research focuses on the bigger picture of user behavior. It asks questions like: What pushed the customer to look for a new solution? What outcome were they really hoping to achieve? What alternative choices did they consider?

These kinds of questions reveal not just what customers are doing but the drivers behind their decisions – the progress they are trying to make in their lives or businesses. JTBD helps you uncover actionable insights beyond surveys – insights that can guide product development, messaging, and strategy in a more meaningful way.

It’s easy to assume that if a product is easy to use, it must be valuable to the customer. But usability and usefulness are not the same thing. In fact, many products that are highly 'usable' fail to gain adoption, while others that may have UX flaws still thrive – simply because they solve a real, motivating problem.

This doesn’t mean usability doesn’t matter – it absolutely does. But when it’s the only focus, teams risk overlooking what truly drives demand. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework helps bridge this gap by emphasizing usefulness – the value a product delivers in helping a user make progress toward a goal.

What is usability?

Usability refers to how easy and efficient a product is to use. Think of clear navigation, intuitive workflows, responsive design. Usability testing is commonly employed to identify friction, errors, and frustration points in these areas.

What is usefulness?

Usefulness is about how well a product serves the user’s underlying purpose – the 'job' they’re hiring it to do. This is at the heart of Jobs to Be Done: understanding user intent not just in the moment of use, but during their broader journey and life context.

For example, someone might use a budgeting app with a clean design and smooth interface, but if it doesn’t fit their mental model of how they manage money, they’ll abandon it. On the other hand, a more complex tool that aligns with their financial habits may stick – because it’s more useful, even if not technically 'simpler.'

How JTBD clarifies true customer needs

Usability testing focuses on how people interact with solutions. JTBD focuses on why they seek solutions in the first place.

Through qualitative research, JTBD uncovers:

 
• The triggering events that cause someone to seek a new product
 
• The specific outcomes or progress they hope to achieve
 
• The criteria they use to judge which solution fits their life best

This shift—from focusing solely on the interface to focusing on user intent—makes JTBD ideal for product development and market research teams who want to better understand what motivates customer decisions. It brings clarity to the concept of 'value' by referring it back to the customer’s real-world goals, enabling businesses to uncover product-market fit with JTBD rather than just optimize existing offerings.

When you design for usefulness first – and then focus on usability – you gain a competitive edge. You’re no longer just making a product more polished; you’re making it genuinely meaningful for the people you serve.

One of the biggest advantages of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is its ability to reveal the real motivations behind customer behavior — not just what users do with a product, but why they do it in the first place. While usability testing and surveys often concentrate on specific product features or satisfaction levels, Jobs to Be Done cuts through the noise to understand user intent at a deeper level.

Think of it this way: surveys might show that 40% of your users wish the checkout process was faster, or that a feature is underused. But JTBD interviews can uncover that a customer didn't complete their purchase because they weren't confident the product met an emotional or contextual need – like impressing their boss or reducing stress after a long day.

JTBD uncovers the context behind decisions

Every product or service is hired by customers to solve a specific job in their life. That job is influenced by factors like time pressure, competing alternatives, emotional triggers, and the desired outcome. JTBD explores these areas to identify what truly drives choices like switching brands, trying a new app, or abandoning a cart.

• Functional needs: What customers want to accomplish (e.g., booking a flight quickly)
• Emotional needs: How they want to feel (e.g., confident, safe, in control)
• Social needs: How they want to be perceived (e.g., responsible, tech-savvy)

This level of insight brings clarity that traditional customer research often misses. For example, while usability testing might validate that filters on your website are working correctly, JTBD can reveal that customers abandon searches because they’re overwhelmed by choices or because they need recommendations tailored to their specific life situation.

Helping you build truly useful products

Understanding user behavior through the JTBD framework helps close the gap between usability and usefulness. Businesses can make more informed product development decisions when they know which outcomes customers are aiming for — and what’s standing in their way.

In short, JTBD helps teams stop guessing and start delivering. It's a form of qualitative research that gets to the root of why people take action, making it an essential complement to other methods that measure what people say or do.

Jobs to Be Done is a powerful lens, but it doesn’t have to stand alone. In fact, the best results often come when JTBD is used alongside other customer research methods like surveys, usability testing, and analytics. Each tool has its place — and combining them can lead to a more well-rounded understanding of your users.

Why JTBD is complementary, not competitive

While methods like A/B testing and surveys tell you what’s happening — such as drop-off rates or customer preferences — JTBD tells you why it’s happening. It helps bridge the gap between quantifiable metrics and human behavior. Pairing JTBD with other research allows you to validate hypotheses, enrich personas, and sharpen strategy.

Here's how JTBD complements traditional techniques:

• With surveys: JTBD adds context and motivation behind the quantitative results, helping avoid shallow interpretations.
• With usability testing: JTBD pushes beyond interface feedback to explore whether the product supports users' life goals.
• With website analytics: JTBD helps interpret behavior patterns by exposing the underlying jobs users are trying to complete.

Scenarios where it makes sense to blend JTBD

Consider using JTBD alongside other market research methods when you:

1. See unexpected user behavior. Are analytics showing drop-offs at places you didn’t expect? JTBD can help uncover disconnects between the product and the user’s real-world motivations.

2. Need deeper segmentation. Instead of segmenting customers by demographics or psychographics alone, JTBD lets you group people by common goals or triggers — often a more actionable path.

3. Want to refine a value proposition. JTBD research informs messaging by identifying what customers are hiring your product to do and what language resonates with them.

In these cases, JTBD doesn’t replace usability testing or surveys. It enhances them — especially when deciding how to invest in new features, pivot strategy, or define product-market fit.

That’s why at SIVO Insights, we often design blended studies using both qualitative and quantitative tools, allowing clients to map the full picture of customer needs and behaviors.

Integrating the Jobs to Be Done framework into your research strategy doesn’t have to be complex — but it does require a mindset shift. Instead of starting with what your product can do, start with what your customer is trying to achieve in their broader life or work context. JTBD helps you zoom out to see the big picture before zooming back in to refine what you build.

Know what you're trying to uncover

Before diving into JTBD, clarify your objective. Are you trying to uncover unmet customer needs? Understand switching behavior? Discover what’s really driving churn or loyalty? JTBD is especially useful when exploring questions about product-market fit, user adoption, or long-term customer value.

Basic steps to begin

Here’s a simplified outline to help you start:

1. Identify key customer segments. Choose groups who recently made a purchase, switched providers, or changed behavior.
2. Conduct JTBD interviews. These are open-ended, story-based conversations that explore what happened before, during, and after a key decision.
3. Extract and map jobs. Translate interview themes into “jobs,” with related desired outcomes and forces of progress or inertia.
4. Prioritize opportunities. Identify gaps where your product isn't meeting needs — and spot high-potential market openings.

The output can fuel everything from product development roadmaps to positioning strategy and customer journey design. And because it’s based on actual human behavior and emotional context, JTBD insight is powerful for rallying internal teams around what really matters to customers.

At SIVO Insights, we often pair JTBD research with other qualitative research methods to provide clients with clear, actionable consumer insights. Whether you're launching a new solution or refining an existing one, integrating JTBD can be a game-changer in understanding what truly drives user behavior and satisfaction.