Jobs to Be Done (JTBD): Understanding customers. Enabling innovation.

This post is also available in: Deutsch (German)

Do you want to build products that people really use – instead of features that gather dust in the statistics?
Then you don’t need another method. You need a perspective.
Jobs to Be Done is exactly that: a change of perspective that helps you to stop guessing what customers want – and find out together with them.

Because nobody needs a new product.
People want progress. JTBD shows you which one.

What is Jobs to Be Done?

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is not a feel-good method for product teams.
It is a radical but objective approach to the question:

What really drives people when they buy, use or change a product?

With JTBD, you can find out which jobs your customers want to do – and how they are failing at them today.

Instead of guessing target groups or interpreting user behaviour, we talk to real people about what they do, feel and hope – just before they change.
The method was scientifically developed by Clayton Christensen (Harvard) and Tony Ulwick, among others, and is now used worldwide by companies such as Intercom, Lego and Bosch.

👉 To the theory page

Why JTBD works – and what you get out of it

With JTBD you can:

🚀 Develop innovations that don’t gather dust in the lab cupboard
🧠 Understanding what really drives your customers – beyond target group phrases
🎯 Marketing-Botschaften treffen, die konvertieren
⚒️ Building products that are used – not just bought

Companies that work with us report on:

up to 5-fold sales growth
halved marketing costs
drastically shortened development cycles

👉 For example Mantrafant – Case Study

A framework that makes the difference

If you want to know how Jobs-to-be-Done can be applied in practice – not as a loose method, but as an end-to-end system for research, strategy, design and implementation – then get to know our JTBD Innovation Framework.

There you will find a structured overview of the four frameworks, all the tools and the common language that you can use to systematically identify customer needs and translate them into successful offers.

How to get started with JTBD

1. JTBD Interviews & Research

Understand what people really do just before they buy – and why.
👉 More about JTBD Research & Product Development

2. Workshops & Trainings

Learn how to use JTBD in small, interactive formats – from interview techniques to team implementation.
👉 To the workshops & formats

3 JTBD Tools & Canvas

Visualise customer progress with tried-and-tested tools such as the Wheel of Progress®.
👉 Discover JTBD Tools & Canvas

What sets us apart from others

We have been working with the jobs-to-be-done perspective since 2006.
But not academically, but in the field: in more than 700 companies, from start-ups to industrial groups.

We have:

co-developed the Wheel of Progress® canvas
a proprietary JTBD framework that can be applied quickly
Established a nationwide training system for JTBD innovation

And: We don’t believe in buzzwords. We believe that you can do things better if you really understand people.

For whom JTBD is particularly relevant

Do you want to know whether it’s worth getting started with JTBD? Then answer a question:

Do you know the real reason why your customers bought – or not?

If you are hesitant, JTBD is relevant for you.
Whether you:

manage a product team
are responsible for strategic innovation
are faced with decisions as a founder or managing director

Get started now

JTBD is not a theory to read. It is a tool for action.
You can start using it tomorrow – and we’ll show you how.

👉 Arrange a free initial consultation
👉 To our JTBD formats