Jobs to be done extractor

Jobs-to-be-Done Extractor

Reframes the product around the job the customer is hiring it to do.

What this skill is

A workflow that turns unstructured customer research into Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) artifacts: functional, emotional, and social job statements; a job map; force diagrams (push / pull / habit / anxiety); outcome statements; and a hire / fire analysis. Built on the Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) school of Anthony Ulwick and the milkshake school of Clayton Christensen, with explicit handling of overserved versus underserved outcomes.

What it solves

• Persona-based segmentation that doesn't predict purchase behavior
• Roadmaps driven by feature requests instead of customer outcomes
• Marketing copy that lists features but doesn't connect to the job
• Switching analysis that ignores the four forces (push, pull, habit, anxiety)
• Inconsistent JTBD interpretations across product, marketing, and sales

When to invoke

• Synthesizing customer interviews, switching interviews, or win-loss calls
• Re-segmenting the market beyond firmographics
• Building positioning or messaging that resonates with the actual job
• Prioritizing the roadmap by underserved outcome importance
• Aligning product, marketing, sales, and customer success on a shared customer model

Phase 1: Source the raw material

Catalog what you have:

• Customer interview transcripts (switching, churn, win-loss, discovery)
• Sales call recordings plus notes
• Support tickets and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) verbatims
• Survey free-text responses
• Reviews (G2, Capterra, Reddit, Twitter / X)
• Internal Slack messages from customer success and sales

Log source, recency, sample size, and any selection bias.

Phase 2: Extract the job statements

For each customer signal, write a job statement using the canonical form:

When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].

Categorize each into:

• Functional - the practical task being accomplished
• Emotional - how the customer wants to feel
• Social - how they want to be perceived

Most products serve a primary functional job plus 1-2 emotional or social jobs. Identify the main job versus related jobs versus little hires.

Phase 3: Build the job map

Decompose the main job into the 8 universal job stages:

Stage	Question	Example
Define	What do they need to decide before starting?
Locate	What inputs or context do they need to gather?
Prepare	How do they set up the work?
Confirm	How do they verify they're ready?
Execute	What is the core task?
Monitor	How do they track progress?
Modify	How do they adapt mid-job?
Conclude	How do they finish and clean up?

For each stage, list the desired outcomes the customer wants to optimize.

Phase 4: Outcome statements and importance × satisfaction

Convert each desired outcome into a measurable statement:

[Minimize / Increase] the [unit of measure] [object of control] [contextual clarifier]

Example: Minimize the time it takes to verify the report matches the source data.

Score each outcome on 1-10:

• Importance - how critical to the customer
• Satisfaction - how well current solutions deliver

Plot on the Opportunity Score matrix:

Opportunity Score = Importance + max(Importance − Satisfaction, 0)

Outcomes scoring ≥ 15 are underserved (innovation opportunity). Outcomes scoring < 10 with high satisfaction are overserved (cost-reduction or simplification opportunity).

Phase 5: Forces of progress analysis

For switching or adoption decisions, map the four forces:

Force	Pulls toward new	Pulls toward old
Push of the current situation	Frustrations, broken workflows
Pull of the new solution	Promised benefits, identity fit
Anxiety of the new solution		Switching cost, learning curve, risk
Habit of the old		Inertia, sunk cost, social bonds

A switch happens when (Push + Pull) > (Anxiety + Habit). Identify which force is the bottleneck and prioritize accordingly.

Phase 6: Hire / fire analysis

For each segment, identify:

• Who they hired you over (direct competitor, workaround, do-nothing)
• Who they fired to hire you (incumbent, manual process)
• What would make them fire you (deal-breakers, deteriorating outcomes)

Output

• 5-12 prioritized job statements (functional plus emotional plus social)
• Job map with 8 stages and desired outcomes per stage
• Opportunity Score matrix flagging underserved and overserved outcomes
• Forces of progress diagram for top switching scenarios
• Hire / fire analysis per segment
• 3-5 messaging seeds for marketing and sales

Operating rules

Always

• Quote customer language verbatim before paraphrasing
• Distinguish functional versus emotional versus social
• Score outcomes for both importance and satisfaction
• Use the canonical situation / motivation / outcome statement form
• Map all four forces, not just push and pull

Never

• Mix demographic personas with JTBD segments
• Skip the "when" situation - it's where the job lives
• Reduce a job to a feature request
• Anchor on the first interview (verify across multiple sources)
• Confuse the customer's words with their job