A goal-driven solution framework

J O B S - T O - B E - D O N E

Clément Génin Business Analyst

A fast-food chain wanted to improve the sales of their milkshakes.

They added more flavours. More toppings. They made it creamier than other fast-food chains’ milkshakes.

First, they focused on the product

Without results.

They panelled consumers and asked them directly how they could improve their milkshakes. They used the feedback to change the product.

Then they focused on the customers

Again without significant results.

They profiled their targeted consumers into market segments and calibered the milkshakes according to the related consuming habits.

Then they focused on the market segment

Still no results.

Then a researcher in the team redefined the problem at hand by trying to find out what job people were trying to

get done that caused them to hire a milkshake.

Most customers buying a milkshake were alone, wearing work clothes, would do it before 8 AM and would only buy a milkshake.

First, they observed the customers

They asked them about the context of the purchase (not about the product): what were they doing, what went through their head, etc.

They find out that people were buying a milkshake to make their driving to work less boring.

Then, they interviewed them about the purchase

Consumers didn’t really care about the taste. They needed something they can consume immediately, with

one hand, that lasts and doesn’t easily stains.

Milkshake does this job better than its competition: donuts, bananas, bagels, etc.

They made the purchase of milkshakes easier for commuters by installing a dedicated self-service kiosk.

It allowed out-of-the-box solutions

Sales went up, without having to alter the product.

Why focusing on the product does not work?

1.Adding features doesn’t mean adding value.

A feature is not used in a vacuum, it has to help the user achieve a real-life situation goal.

The website doineedanumbrella.com became very popular by answering the most asked question users have

when they check the weather forecast, instead of drowning them in meteorological data.

2.Being better than direct competitors doesn’t mean

being good or relevant.

The goal of the user (not the product) defines the competition.

Why focusing on the product does not work?

If you focus on the product’s goal, then a cinema sells movies.=> competition are cinemas and video stores.

If you focus on the user’s goal, then a cinema is often used to keep children entertained.

=> competition also includes playgrounds.

1.What users say they want (stated preferences) is often not

what they actually choose (revealed preferences).

Why focusing on user claims does not work?

Spirit Airlines: ultra low cost airline company.Ranked least popular and yet fastest growing airline in the USA.

‣ Stated preferences: room for the legs, luggage space, entertainment in the plane, on-board service, etc.

‣ Revealed preferences: low price.

2.People think in terms of existing solutions, not in terms of

goals they try to achieve.

Why focusing on user claims does not work?

The first cars were basically motored horse-carriages.

“If I asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”- Henry Ford

People don’t consume by conforming to particular segments but because they are looking for a solution.

Why focusing on market segments does not work?

“The fact that you're 18 to 35 years old with a college degree does not cause you

to buy a product. It may be correlated with the decision, but it doesn't cause it.” - Clayton Christensen

Personas lack context and causality. They don’t explain the initial situation, the external events, the user’s anxieties and motivations that trigger the adoption of a

product/service.

The product analysis, design and sale should focus on:

understanding the job the users try to get done.

developing the product

asking what users want

matching market trends

A few more information about jobs

Theodore Levitt Anthony Ulwick Clayton Christensen

Jobs-to-be-done is a framework for innovation developed by business experts

(not specific to web design)

Economist EconomistBusiness consultant

The concept:

People encounter situations that drive the need for a job.

They hire a product or service to get the job done.

Jobs remain valid over time.What changes is the solution people use to get it done.

=> The product/service does not create the job.

Jobs are not easy to discover. They are not obvious to the observer nor the user.

Jobs can be structured in hierarchy:

Make commute to work less boring

Prevent me from being hungry before 10AM

Refresh me in the hot weather

Related job

Related job

Main job

Hiring is a process.There are 4 forces in play:

Habit of the present

Anxiety of the new Magnetism of the new

Push of the situation

Behaviour change

People weigh off available solutions (“consideration set”)according to performance criteria:

functional criteria (objective)

emotional criteria (subjective)

!personal

(how i feel about the solution)

!social

(how i believe i am perceived by others when using the solution)

So what’s in it for a web agency?

Jobs-to-be-done can help us define the real problem our customer tries to solve, and propose

out-of-the-box solutions.

Ideal approach:

Find out what jobs the users try to get done by observing them in the situation in which they encounter

the need for a solution.

Then ask them how they perceive the problem.

Otherwise, get a sense of the situation, the job and the users’ perception by asking the customer:

‣ Ask about the context

‣ Ask several times and reformulate (in simple terms)

‣ Visualise as much as possible

‣ Get to the core of the problem (5 Ws rule)

‣ Steer away from solutions!

Formulate each job into a statement (or job stories):

source: Alan Klement

Prioritise jobs by mapping themaccording to the added value for the user.

Define characters (instead of personas) for the job:

‣ A character is not a demographic

‣ A character is anchored in a real-life context

‣ A character has anxieties and motivations

‣ A character is depicted with a story

For each job, define hiring criteria to evaluate the success of the solutions to come:

‣ Criteria maximise a motivation or minimise an anxiety

‣ Cover all aspects (functional, personal, social)

‣ Are there hiring constraints (time, budget, skills, access)?

What solutions are users currently hiring to do the job?

‣ Try to see beyond the obvious, direct competition

‣ What do users like/dislike about them?

Then, design a solution

‣ Make the problem space explicit:

‣ what job

‣ what performance criteria

‣ what constraints

‣ what characters

‣ what competition

‣ Ideate as a team

That’s all, thank you!