Jobs-to-be-Done Masterclass with Tony Ulwick and Sabeen Sattar

Introduction to JTBD and ODI and a practical step-by-step example.

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Jobs-to-be-Done Masterclass with Tony Ulwick and Sabeen Sattar

My guests are Tony Ulwick, book author and the mind behind Jobs-to-be-Done Framework, and Sabeen Sattar, Chief Operating Officer and product leader at Strategyn.

In the interview, we discussed:

• (01:14) Jobs-to-be-Done and Outcome-Driven Innovation

• (24:20) A practical step-by-step example

• (33:54) Q&A

1. My notes on the steps Sabeen took

This point is not intended to be a complete Jobs-to-be-Done overview. Below, I have summarized the steps Sabeen took for easy analysis.

Step 1: Define the market and “job-to-be-done”

The first step in applying the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory is to define the target market as a group of people + the job they are trying to get done.

Sabeen defined the market using a free JTBD Market Definition Canvas:

• Job executor: Pet owners

• Job-to-be-Done: Provide nutrition for a pet

JTBD Market Definition for pet owners

You can download the canvas and see detailed instructions on filling it in here.

Step 2: Uncover the customer’s needs

The Jobs-to-be-Done Needs Framework provides a model for categorizing, defining, capturing, and organizing customers’ needs.

Each job consists of job steps and the corresponding outcomes:

Source: screenshot from the interview

As we were dealing with pet food, Sabeen used a JTBD Needs Framework template for fast-moving consumer goods (CPG) to generate the initial job steps.

Source: JTBD Needs Framework template for fast-moving consumer goods (ODIpro platform)

Don’t have the ODIpro? Free templates for different industries, including Software, can be downloaded here.

Next, Sabeen interviewed customers to refine those steps and define how customers measure success (“Outcome Statements”):

Defining and validating job steps and outcome statements in ODIpro.

In Jobs-to-be-Done, each outcome statement must have a specific format:

• Direction of improvement (“minimize” or “maximize”)

• The metric customer uses (e.g., “time it takes”)

• The object of control (e.g., “determine what nutrition is needed”)

• Contextual clarifier (e.g., “to address the pet’s existing health problems”)

A full breakdown of the six presented job steps and desired outcomes presented in the interview:

Job Step 1: Determine the pet’s nutritional needs.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the time it takes to determine what nutrition is needed to address the pet’s existing health issues.

2. Minimize the likelihood of failing to identify a health issue that could be improved with nutrition.

Job Step 2: Determine the pet’s eating preferences.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the time it takes to determine what food texture the pet prefers.

2. Minimize the time it takes to determine what type of proteins the pet prefers.

Job Step 3: Determine what diet will address the pet’s nutritional needs.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the time it takes to determine what foods will not cause vomiting.

Job Step 4: Determine the plan to provide the pet’s nutrition.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the time it takes to determine the frequency of feeding the pet.

2. Minimize the time it takes to determine the best time to feed the pet.

3. Minimize the likelihood that the feeding plan fails to address the pet’s eating preferences.

Job Step 5: Provide the nutrition that the pet needs.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the likelihood of underfeeding the pet when the pet is active.

2. Minimize the likelihood of overfeeding the pet when the pet is nourished.

3. Minimize the time it takes to get the pet to finish the food at mealtime.

Job Step 6: Identify the gaps in the pet’s nutritional needs.

Outcome statements:

1. Minimize the time it takes to determine the health of the pet’s digestive tract over time.

2. Minimize the time it takes to determine the benefits the food provides to meet the pet’s nutritional needs.

Step 3: Quantify the degree to which each outcome is over/underserved

Next, Sabeen quantified the desired outcomes by performing a survey. Pet owners were asked about:

• What solution do you use today to get the job done?

• The importance of each outcome (1-5)

• The degree to which each outcome is satisfied (1-5)

Based on Strategyn recommendations, the questions in the survey might look like this:

An example survey prepared by Paweł Huryn

Step 4: Discover hidden segments of opportunity

Next, Sabeen aggregated the results of the survey into an Excel file and calculated the Opportunity Score, defined as:

Opportunity Score = Importance+MAX(Importance-Satisfaction, 0)

ODIpro template presented all Outcome Statements and the corresponding Opportunity Scores in a visual form:

Next, Sabeen filtered rows for which Opportunity Score > 10, which are the underserved needs.

Important notes:

• The Importance Score is calculated based on the percentage of people who answered 4 or 5, normalized to a scale of 10. For example, if 31% of people say a specific Outcome is very or extremely important, then the Importance Score is 3.1.

• The Satisfaction Score is calculated based on the percentage of people who answered 4 or 5, normalized to a scale of 10. For example, if 75% of people say they are very or extremely satisfied, then the Satisfaction Score is 7.5.

• Note that this type of filtering is the most basic way you might analyze the results. It doesn’t include identifying different customer segments. Also, if Sabeen’s goal was to reduce costs (unlikely in software), she would focus on overserver needs. To learn more, see the complete ODI process.

While the template with visual representation is available as part of the ODIpro, I previously created a simplified template to demonstrate those calculations:

JTBD Opportunity Score calculation by Paweł

Selected rules for the underserved needs, based on the Jobs-to-be-Done book:

• Opportunity scores greater than 15 represent an extreme opportunity

• Opportunity scores greater than 12 represent a high opportunity

• Opportunity scores greater than 10 represent a solid opportunity

• Opportunity scores <= 10 are appropriately served or overserved

2. Additional resources

1. I recommend free resources shared by Strategyn, in particular:

   1. A free JTBD e-book and audiobook: https://jobs-to-be-done-book.com/

   2. JTBD Playbook (PDF): https://strategyn.com/jobs-to-be-done/jobs-to-be-done-playbook/

   3. JTBD Market Definition Canvas (PDF): https://www2.strategyn.com/jtbdmarketcanvas

   4. Industry-Specific JTBD Needs Frameworks (PDF): https://strategyn.com/lp-industry-specific-jtbd-frameworks/

   5. The complete ODI process: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/outcome-driven-innovation-odi-is-jobs-to-be-done-theory-in-practice-2944c6ebc40e

2. Strategyn website: https://strategyn.com/

3. ODIpro Innovation Strategy Platform with tools, templates, certificates, community, and much more:

   1. Registration: https://strategyn.com/odipro/

   2. 10% discount code valid till December 31, 2023: PAWELOOKR2UUL

4. Where to find Tony Ulwick?

   1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyulwick/

   2. Medium: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/

5. Where to find Sabeen Sattar?

   1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabeensattar/

To make it clear, Paweł Huryn is not affiliated with Strategyn.

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