The Jobs To Be Done Playbook: Align Your Markets, Organization, and Strategy Around Customer Needs

This book helped me roll out jobs to be done at my 7-person startup. It strikes the right balance between conceptually rigorous and practical. I was able to read the book in one week, then use it to structure jobs interviews, and create a jobs map. The research process gained team buy-in and my teammates are also appreciative.

It was just user centered product design repackaged. If you have interviewed users, built personas, and designed for user needs then you can pass on this book. If not, it will probably benefit you.

I approached this book completely new to Jobs to be Done, and now that I'm most of the way through, I not only feel well-versed in the framework, but I've already put it into practice in a research project aimed at understanding what users are trying to accomplish on a platform.The first chapters outline the research methodology and then connect it to business strategy. That's where it hooked me: seeing clearly how this approach might point a business in the direction of growth. From there, we get a rigorous guide to the Jobs to be Done interview (plus other approaches developed by JTBD practitioners), and a thorough guide to techniques for analyzing data and engaging stakeholders.I can see myself digging into the references in the book for more detail on certain topics, and the book makes this exploration super easy, with plenty of references in the form of annotated bibliographic entries at the end of every chapter (including a number of podcasts, which is much appreciated).This book will enhance how you approach learning about your customers/users. Highly, highly recommend.

The book is well structured, reads well and takes you on a step by step journey until you know exactly what you need to offer customers to help them get their jobs done.

The author has put together an excellent book covering all aspects of Jobs to be Done (JTBD) from theory through practice. This is a perfect resource for anyone who wishes to learn more about JTBD and, importantly, for anyone that wants to put JTBD into practice. I highly recommend this book.

Didn't get a chance to enjoy the book as it came in a box with two others, all of them smelling so horribly it made me sick.

Not obvious examples and enough info

A very helpful and pleasant reading. It gave me insights to serve our customers better. While reading this book I tried to compare our actual approach to the Market with JTBD thinking and like magic, my brain started sparkle ideas on how we can adjust Marketing & Communications, Sales and Delivery around the Customer Job and help them progress satisfy their needs.

What do customers really want?The phrase Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) as a way of focusing on customers was popularised by innovation guru, Clayton Christiansen in the early 2000s. The underlying idea was promoted before then, that products are temporary solutions to a much more long term need, motivation or job.For example, people need an easy and quick way to move from one location to another. The solution varies over time from horse drawn carriage to car to (perhaps in the future) teleportation. The job is still to get from A to B.Many years ago, I was encouraged to think about three levels - the customer's goals, the consequences they wanted and the attributes of a solution.The author defines job as "The process of reaching objectives under given circumstances".I believe JTBD thinking closes a gap in marketing and business thinking. I remember asking my MBA marketing lecturer in the late 90s about how marketing tied into motivation theory. What I was learning seemed much more about pushing products than customers pulling desired solutions from suppliers.The book talks about two types of JTBD analysis, the first concentrates on the job, the second on the switch (purchase decision process). Both are interesting perspectives that can give insights.I was very pleased to see the book present JTBD in a who, what, why, how, when and where framework. These are the fundamental questions that business owners and managers need to go back to. Answers define businesses, why they are different from competitors and how their solutions best suit particular customers.This is the first detailed book I've read on Jobs To Be Done. My impression is that it is an excellent summary and synthesis of the work done by many people. References are clear in the text, credit is properly given and the more information section at the end of each chapter doesn't just list the sources but sells you on the reason why you should dig deeper.While this seems to be a comprehensive summary of JTBD techniques, a weakness is that it also covers similar techniques and compares and contrasts them. This can feel confusing the first time you read the book because you have more choices to make. Sometimes less is more.Partly this happens because the book is written for a very wide audience across work functions and different types of businesses. The authors stress that JTBD can be used with any type of product or service but some of it feels very application software based. Here JTBD helps to make the problem-solution more tangible but it adds complexity when you start with a more tangible, easier to see and define situation.At one stage, I was thinking of reducing my intended 5 star rating down to 4 stars because of this overwhelm problem. The book feels like a study text book which you need to note and revise before you master and can see the bigger picture.Fortunately the author pulls it back by stressing that you can gain insight from taking individual plays. The book also has recipes for getting particular jobs done. So if you're thinking of launching a new product, it recommends doing A to E. If you're improving an existing product then it's B+E+F+G.I read for two audiences, my own personal development and books to recommend to clients and other small business owners.As a book for me, this is excellent. I got a great deal out of it although I will need to read it more often to decide exactly what I want to take from it. I'll do that after reading other JTBD books.As a book to recommend to business owners, I think it's too much unless jobs to be done is going to be a major influence on their thinking. I'm looking for a simpler book that covers the main issues.From my own perspective, this is a 5 star book.Paul Simister helps frustrated business owners who are stuck, get unstuck.

This book is the first (and maybe only) thing you need to read on the topic.I've always felt that JTBD showed promise and have used parts of the 'methodology' in my work as a designer. But it has been excruciatingly painful to try to piece together and understand all the nonsense that has been published previously on the topic. Off putting and quite frustrating. I dread to think how many hours have been lost by design teams around the world as they try to make sense of JTBD.This book takes the best parts from the various approaches to JTBD and makes sense of them.I often get asked about JTBD and now I just send people a link to this book.

This is a well written, clear and concise guide to understanding the jobs to be done theory, how the different viewpoints on the theory can be used together and how you can put this into use. This is without doubt one of the best practical guides on JTBD that there is.

Gift for others and he seems happy with this book.

Gefällt mir sehr gut obwohl der Autor meinte er würde so einiges doch nun anders schreiben. Ich finde, es gibt einen sehr guten Einblick in die JTBD Theorie.