Jobs to Be Done Template
A Jobs to Be Done template for capturing functional, emotional, and social jobs, along with the forces that drive customers to switch products and the outcomes they're trying to achieve. Free to copy, download, and use. No signup required.
# Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) **Product / Feature:** [Name] **Researcher:** [Name] **Date:** [Date] **Based on:** [N switch interviews / customer discovery sessions] --- ## What Is a Job to Be Done? A Job to Be Done is the progress a customer is trying to make in a specific circumstance. Customers don't buy products — they hire them to get a job done. **Job statement format:** > When [situation], I want to [motivation / goal], so I can [expected outcome]. --- ## Core Job Statement > When **[situation the customer is in]**, > I want to **[what they're trying to accomplish]**, > so I can **[the outcome they're seeking]**. **Example (for PMRead):** > When I finish a round of customer interviews, I want to quickly extract the key themes and pain points, so I can write a grounded PRD without spending a full day on synthesis. --- ## Job Layers ### Functional Job [The practical task the customer is trying to accomplish] > [Functional job statement] ### Emotional Job [How the customer wants to feel during or after the job] > [Emotional job statement — e.g. "feel confident the decision is evidence-based"] ### Social Job [How the customer wants to be perceived by others] > [Social job statement — e.g. "be seen as a data-driven PM by their team"] --- ## The Switch Interview: Forces of Progress Use this framework to understand what pushes customers away from their current solution and toward yours. ### Push (dissatisfaction with old solution) > What frustrated the customer enough to consider switching? - [Push 1: Specific frustration with current tool/approach] - [Push 2] - [Push 3] ### Pull (attraction toward new solution) > What about the new solution attracted them? - [Pull 1: Specific capability or outcome they hoped for] - [Pull 2] ### Anxiety (fear about switching) > What made them hesitate to switch? - [Anxiety 1: e.g. "Will it be too complex to set up?"] - [Anxiety 2] ### Habit (inertia) > What kept them with the old solution as long as they stayed? - [Habit 1: e.g. "The whole team is already in Notion"] - [Habit 2] --- ## Desired Outcomes (from the customer's perspective) Desired outcomes are the metrics customers use to judge how well a job is done. Format: verb + metric + object + clarifier. | # | Desired Outcome | Importance (1–5) | Satisfaction with current solution (1–5) | Opportunity Score | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | [Minimise the time to turn interviews into themes] | [4] | [2] | [Importance + (Importance − Satisfaction) = X] | | 2 | [Reduce the risk of missing a critical customer pain point] | | | | | 3 | [Increase the confidence that the PRD reflects real data] | | | | > **Opportunity Score** = Importance + (Importance − Satisfaction). Scores > 10 = underserved job. Scores < 5 = overserved. --- ## Job Map (Steps in the Job) Break the main job into the sequence of steps the customer takes. | Step | What the customer is doing | Current friction | |---|---|---| | 1. Define | [What they do first] | [What's hard / slow / risky] | | 2. Locate | [Finding inputs or resources] | | | 3. Prepare | [Setting up to do the job] | | | 4. Execute | [Core action] | | | 5. Monitor | [Checking progress] | | | 6. Conclude | [Finishing and handing off] | | --- ## Strategic Implications | Job insight | Product or roadmap implication | |---|---| | [Insight from job analysis] | [What to build, change, or stop doing] | | [Insight] | [Implication] |
How to use this JTBD template
Run switch interviews, not satisfaction surveys
JTBD comes alive through switch interviews — conversations with customers about the specific moment they decided to hire (or fire) a product. Ask 'walk me through the day you decided to start looking for a new solution.' Surveys tell you what; interviews tell you why.
Write one core job statement before anything else
The core job statement is the anchor for everything else on this template. If it takes you more than 10 minutes to write, you haven't done enough interviews yet. Go back to the customer before filling out the rest.
Use the opportunity score to find underserved outcomes
The best product opportunities are high-importance outcomes that current solutions satisfy poorly. Any outcome with an opportunity score above 10 is a legitimate product bet. Start your roadmap there.
Map the full job, not just your feature's slice
The job map shows where your product fits in a larger workflow. Gaps in the map are expansion opportunities; steps where competitors outperform you are competitive risks. PMs who only understand their slice of the job get disrupted by tools that do the whole job.
Want a JTBD grounded in your actual customer data?
PMRead ingests your customer interviews, feedback, and Slack threads — and generates PRDs backed by real evidence, not guesses.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between JTBD and user personas?
Personas describe who a customer is (demographics, goals, frustrations). JTBD describes what progress they're trying to make regardless of who they are. Two people with very different personas can have the same job. JTBD is more useful for innovation; personas are more useful for messaging and UX decisions.
How many jobs does a typical product serve?
Most successful products have one primary job they do better than alternatives, and 2–4 adjacent jobs they do reasonably well. Products that try to serve too many jobs become bloated and lose to focused competitors. Knowing your primary job helps you say no to features that serve different jobs.
How many switch interviews do I need?
5–8 is enough to identify a core job clearly. At 3, you might see a pattern. At 10+, you start hitting diminishing returns. The quality of the interview matters more than the count — a deep 60-minute switch interview is worth 5 shallow 15-minute conversations.
Is JTBD only for B2C products?
No. JTBD works as well or better in B2B. The job is often more clearly articulated in B2B because customers are hiring your product to accomplish a professional outcome they can describe precisely. The switch interview is especially powerful in B2B — buyers often remember exactly when and why they decided to evaluate alternatives.
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