Jobs to Be Done Canvas
Understands customer needs from a task perspective.
PURPOSE
Companies often develop products based on assumptions about customer wishes without understanding the actual tasks customers want to accomplish. The Jobs to Be Done Canvas helps think about innovation initiatives consistently from the customer's task perspective. It uncovers unmet needs and reveals innovation potential beyond existing product categories.
HOW TO USE
The canvas first describes the functional, emotional, and social jobs the customer wants to accomplish. Then current solutions and their weaknesses are identified along with the criteria by which customers evaluate success. From this, teams derive concrete innovation approaches targeting unfulfilled jobs.
WHAT IT IS
The Jobs to Be Done Canvas is a visual worksheet that translates JTBD theory into a structured format. It contains fields for the job, context, current solutions, pain points, desired outcomes, and evaluation criteria. The canvas makes the customer perspective tangible and prioritizable for product teams.
EXAMPLE
Example: Your furniture company is losing market share to online retailers and you want to understand what tasks customers really want to accomplish when buying furniture — such as 'furnish my first apartment quickly and affordably.' With the Jobs to Be Done Canvas, you systematically analyze the functional, emotional, and social dimensions of these customer tasks.
PREREQUISITES
- Interview material or planned conversations
- Skill: JTBD thinking
- Skill: Interview analysis
⚠️ WATCH OUT
- Filled at the desk it produces wishful thinking instead of jobs
- Common mistake: Confusing jobs with tasks or features
💡 SUCCESS FACTORS
- Fill only with real interview quotes