Jobs To Be Done

Depending upon the purpose and circumstances of the job to be done, the operator will need different ways of setting off his charges. He may need only a short delay, such as may be provided by a piece of time fuse, to permit him to get out of range of the explosion. He may need a reasonably accurate delay of several hours. He may wish to initiate the action instantaneously himself at a precise moment. Or he may wish to have the action initiated by the target. 

James Wei Most work in chemical reaction engineering is like separations. There s a total job to be done, we want to get some reactions carried out, products made, that s what it s about. How is it to be done You have all the ingredients of fluid mechanics, kinetics, transport, catalysis, etc. The purpose is to get a job done. 

If you remember anything about jobs to be done, remember this they are completely neutral of the solutions you create (your products and services). While a customer JTBD remains fairly stable over time, your products and services should change at strategic intervals as you strive to provide ever-increasing value. 

In Jobs To Be Done (Technique 1), we provide instructions for how to develop job statements and how to determine which JTBDs are priorities for innovation. Follow these steps to select the JTBD for which you ll develop related outcome expectations. 

The outcome statements improve the consistency and reliability of collecting useful information regarding the job to be done. It is very important to follow the outcome statement structure to enhance repeatability and avoid confusion. 

The appliance company decides the JTBD is to clean clothes at home. See Jobs To Be Done (Technique 1) for more guidance on how to formulate and prioritize jobs for innovation. 

Why is the person using this product/service What s the job to be done What are their expectations When Kaiser Permanente set out to design a new hospital, an ethnographic study revealed that people who go to a hospital had many needs. In addition to the... 

Use Heuristic Redefinition when your innovation job to be done (JTBD) is not well defined, or is broad rather than targeted in nature and you need more specificity to take meaningful innovation action. This technique is very helpful to innovation leaders who are assembling their innovation project portfolios. 

The team should create an illustration of the system for meeting the JTBD (see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1), showing all of its major elements. Remember that any combination of functions can be considered a system or a subsystem, no matter how large or small. The waiting room at a dental office is a subsystem, and so is the dentist s tool tray. 

In the center box, put a brief description or a picture related to the innovation opportunity or JTBD (see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1). In our example, the distinctive dragon fruit may be the first thing that comes to mind. However, since we want to make the Pitaya plant more tolerant to colder climates, we ll put that in the center box instead of the fruit. 

Scoping an innovation project is important because the way you define the opportunity, or the job to be done (JTBD), can make the difference between a run-of-the-mill solution and a truly innovative approach. Although similar to Nine Windows (Technique 6), Job Scoping may take your project in a completely different direction, so it s worthwhile to apply both techniques early in the innovation project. 

Choose team members with a variety of technical and nontechnical skills, experience, and motivation related to the specific job statement or JTBD (see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1). 

A job statement is the job to be done (JTBD) summarized in a specific format verb (eat), object (a healthy breakfast), context (on the go). Note that the job statement should be written from the customer s point of view not the provider s (e.g., increase profits from new menu item). For more on this, see Jobs To Be Done (Technique 1). 

What job, problem, or task creates the focus for your innovation effort What are its associated customer and provider outcome expectations Have you already created a project statement or job statement See Jobs To Be Done, Outcome Expectations, and Project Charter (Techniques 1, 2, and 10 respectively). 

What is the primary useful function (the design intent) of the system, or the main job to be done (JTBD) ... 

Before you use this tool, it s best to make sure you have clarity on how the current process or product is used to achieve the job to be done (JTBD). Articulate the JTBD and the current approach for delivering its solution. Remind the team to stay focused on the JTBD, so that innovative solutions (with higher value quotients) can be generated, not just incremental improvements to current solutions. (For more information, see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1.)... 

Distribute a Brainwriting 6-3-5 worksheet (see Exhibit 18.1) to each participant. In the first row of the worksheet, participants should write three potential ideas that might fulfill the JTBD (for more on this topic, see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1). Each person takes five minutes to write their ideas in silence (although it may take less time during the first few rounds). Remind team members to write legibly so that others can read their contributions. 

Brainwriting 6-3-5 Job To Be Done Reduce number of booking transactions not completed on our web site Date 300ct-07... 

Review the problem, or job to be done (see Technique 1), and identify the following key elements ... 

On a white board or flip chart, write the JTBD (see Jobs to Be Done, Technique 1). In our example, we are tasked with the rather broad job of improving the company s image. We could use Job Scoping (Technique 7) or Nine Windows (Technique 6) to better define this job, but since we have a few general ideas for meeting this JTBD, let s see where Concept Tree takes us. 

The goal of Provocation and Movement is to improve the satisfaction level of an outcome, or generate a solution that allows you to better fulfill a job to be done. 

Using other techniques in this book, you have already scoped the JTBD (see Jobs To Be Done, Technique 1) and identified associated outcome expectations (see Technique 2). Now, ask, What would nature do to solve this problem In doing so, you realize that nature isn t the environment in which your design will live instead it s a model on which to base your design. This subtle shift is important if you want to draw inspiration from nature and follow its guiding principles ... 

---