Not All Jobs-to-be-Done Are Treated Alike
While a core functional job is always solution agnostic, consumption chain jobs are sometimes solution dependent. Understanding when/why they are different and what that means when capturing customer needs will increase your chances of success at innovation.
People buy products and services to get a job done. This thinking is fundamental to Jobs-to-be-Done Theory. What may not be so clear is that people buy products and services to get a core functional job done — a job that is aligned with what the customer is trying to accomplish.
For example, a parent may want to “pass on life lessons to children.” A surgeon may want to “repair a torn rotator cuff.” A completion engineer may want to “extract oil from an unconventional reservoir.” A nurse may want to “clean an immobile patient who is confined to bed.” All are examples of a core functional job-to-be-done. When analyzing the core functional job-to-be-done, important rules are imposed:
When studying a core functional job, such as “clean an immobile patient who is confined to bed,” the job is always studied independent of a solution — it is solution agnostic. The functional job remains the same whether the nurse is using a cloth, a wipe, soap, or other cleaners to get the job done. The Job Map is also solution agnostic and is created to detail what the customer is trying to accomplish, not what actions they are taking or what tasks they are performing. (See The Customer-Centered Innovation Map HBR, May 2008).
Hence, the desired outcomes that are captured are independent of the competing solutions. To ensure a complete set of outcomes are captured, we always interview users of all competing solutions .
Consumption Chain Jobs Are Different
Consumption chain jobs are associated with the product interactions that occur throughout the product lifecycyle — they relate to buying, receiving, setting up, installing, interfacing with, storing, transporting, cleaning, maintaining, repairing, upgrading and disposing of a product that a customer uses to get a core functional job done. Consumption chain jobs must also be studied to discover any additional unmet desired outcomes. (See Customer Needs Through A Jobs-to-be-Done Lens).
When it comes to capturing desired outcomes associated with consumption chain jobs, however, the rules are different. In client engagements we typically find ourselves in one of two situations: (1) the client is producing or wants to produce a type of product that already exists and wants to figure out how to make that type of product better, or (2) the client does not have a specific type of product in mind and is looking to enter the market with a new offering that will leapfrog all competitors.
Making an existing product better
In many cases, we know what type of product a client is going to make. For example, a client may tell us in advance that they are going to make a wipe for use in “cleaning an immobile patient who is confined to bed.” If we know the solution is going to be a wipe, then we know certain consumption chain jobs will have to be considered. A wipe, for example, must be stored, located, retrieved, transported, opened, shaped, interfaced with, and disposed of. Therefore we would study each of these consumption chain jobs and interview users of other wipes to uncover the desired outcomes associated with each relevant job. This will provide us with the information needed to help make a wipe that performs better in all stages of the product lifecycle.
To offer another example, when we helped Bosch enter the North American circular saw market, they knew they were going to create a circular saw to help tradesmen “cut wood in a straight line” — the core functional job-to-be-done. So we captured solution agnostic outcomes associated with “cutting a piece of wood in a straight line” (the functional job) from users of circular saws, table saws and hand saws — all competing offerings. But we also assumed a circular saw when capturing consumption chain jobs desired outcomes associated with locating the saw, setting it up, interfacing with it, and transporting, maintaining, repairing, and cleaning it. This way we could identify and address any unmet needs experienced in the product lifecycle.
Create a new product that leapfrogs all competitors
In other cases, a client might not know what type of product they are going to make — and are open to any option.
Here the goal is to innovate the product in such a way that the consumption chain jobs go away —in other words: to create a product that does not have to be installed, set-up, interfaced with, repaired, maintained and so on.
Eliminating the need to execute one or more consumption chain job makes a product easier to use and less costly — both goals of pursuing a Dominant Strategy (see The Jobs-to-be-Done Growth Strategy Matrix). After a product concept is defined, then the associated consumption chain jobs can be defined and studied as described above.
Knowing when and when not to assume a product, and knowing how this impacts the way you conduct your qualitative research, can help you avoid missteps when putting Jobs-to-be-Done Theory into practice using the innovation process, Outcome-Driven Innovation.
Learn more: download a FREE PDF or AUDIO version of my latest Jobs-to-be-Done book, JOBS TO BE DONE: Theory to Practice.
In addition, you can now access ODIpro, our online innovation strategy platform, where you can:
- Get certified in putting Jobs Theory and Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) into practice.
- Apply the process to your markets using Strategyn’s latest tools and templates.
- Align your team around a winning product strategy.
To learn more about Strategyn’s consulting offerings and customized programs for innovation, go to Strategyn.com.
