This document discusses how jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) research can be combined with user experience (UX) research. It provides an overview of JTBD theory and frameworks, then discusses how JTBD interviews and analysis can be used alongside typical UX methods to better understand user needs. As an example, it analyzes research done with Format trial users who did not become paying customers. Their JTBD revealed two main jobs: making site building/maintenance less of a hassle, and helping promote their work. By mapping trial users' timelines and the forces influencing them, Format can focus on increasing progress and reducing habits/anxieties preventing continued use.

1. JTBD + UX Research
UX Research TO - Nov. 27/17

2. Hello!
Kim Lawless
● Research Lead at Format
● Previously at Teehan+Lax, Normative and Architech
● Got into UX research through education in
anthropology and visual art

3. What I’ll cover
● A quick intro to JTBD
● JTBD + UX research
● JTBD @ Format

4. “People do not want a
quarter-inch drill, they
want a quarter inch hole.”
- Theodore Levitt

5. The premise of JTBD:
Customers don't just buy products.
They "hire" them to do a job.

6. Jobs to be done is a theory about what causes people to
make decisions around consumption. At a high level, it
asserts 3 things:
1. People don’t simply buy/use products and services,
they ‘hire’ them to get a job done in their life.
2. People encounter situations that drive and shape
their need for these ‘jobs.’
3. People have criteria (sometimes conscious, but
often not) to evaluate the success of a job.
Clayton Christensen made the idea famous with his book
The Innovator’s Solution.
Clayton Christensen photographed by Platon
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/05/14
/when-giants-fail

7. The Re-Wired Group
Framework for JTBD
● “Switch” Interviews
● Timeline to purchase
● Forces of progress
Photo: http://www.therewiredgroup.com/

8. First thoughts
What led them to
actively seek out
a new solution?
Consuming
new product
When did they start
thinking that they might
need another solution?
Event/trigger
What criteria
did they use
to decide?
Deciding
Pus c en
si i n
→
Pul n ol o
→
Al e n e c en
ha
←
An i y ew
so on
←
Timeline and Forces

9. JTBD
+ UX Research

10. Methods:
User interviews
Field studies
Diary studies
Contextual enquiry
Participatory design
Generative UX research

11. Outputs:
Reports
Personas
Journey maps
Empathy maps
Mental model diagrams
Generative UX research

12. Pros of JTBD for UX Research:
● Designing using jobs helps us
focus energy on solving for real
user needs
● JTBD interviews are a relatively
lightweight research approach
● Jobs can replace personas or
help build more meaningful ones
Cons of JTBD for UX Research:
● JTBD as a method works for
some types of products/
purchases better than others
(less useful for B2B)
● We have to rely on people's
memories
● Context of use can be missing
Pros and cons

13. JTBD
@ Format

15. Why do some trial Format users fail to
become paid, long-term users?

16. We used the JTBD framework to understand:
● The situations that led trial users to seek out a new a
solution in the first place
● The triggers that pushed them into trying Format when
they did
● The outcomes they were trying to achieve
● What prevented them from making progress toward
those outcomes
Trial user JTBD

17. Trial user timeline
Fir t o h
Active
looking
Trial period
Dec o
Passive looking
Tri r
Tri gi

18. Trial user timeline
Fir t o h
Active
looking
Trial
Dec o
Passive looking
Tri r
Tri gi
My current website is such
a headache to manage.
I tried to modify my site
and made a mess of it.
I should have set aside
more time to properly
build my new site!
I was really not prepared
to spend the time I
needed to. I might come
back when I have more
time to devote to it.
I’m getting a few clients
through Instagram, but I
should set up a real
website.
A potential client
asked to see my
website and now I
need one ASAP!
I want my site to look
something I saw recently…
can’t seem to get it looking
the same.
Still not sure what I want. I’m
going to keep trying different
products until something
sticks.

19. Trial user forces
Pus c en t a →
Managing my site is taking too much time away from
my real work.
I need to find ways to grow my client base. I have my
work on Instagram, but not having a proper site is
hurting me
Pul n ol o →
Some of my peers have beautiful Format sites, and It
looks like it will be easy to maintain.
Format sites always look clean and professional, and ’ll
be able to get up and running quickly
Hab t e r t ←
I spent so much time and energy on my site — I’m not
sure I’m ready to abandon it
This is my part-time gig -- I’d like to see it paying off
more before I invest more time in my site
An i y ew ti ←
It might be painful to go through the education process;I
don’t want to invest time, then end up quitting
I’m afraid my criteria might change, so I’m not sure if I’m
ready to commit; I have trials with other products started,
and I want to give them a try too.

20. Two major jobs emerged from our interviews and analysis:
Job 1: Make building and maintaining my site less of a hassle,
so I can spend my time on my creative work.
Job 2: Help me promote my work so I can move my career to the
next level.
Trial user JTBD

21. Passive looking
What does a ‘better
future’ look like for
this user? What
outcomes are they
trying to make
progress toward?
Active looking
What ‘pushes’
triggered active
looking?
What criteria is being
used to build a
consideration set?
Trial
What does a
successful trial
outcome look like?
What habits are
holding this group
back?
Decision
What habits, anxieties
or issues stopped
them from continuing?
Trial user JTBD
The timeline and forces can be used to focus our energy on
increasing the progress-making forces, and reducing the habits
and anxieties preventing progress.

22. Thanks!
@kklawless
@useformat