# Jobs To Be Done

> Understand what people actually hire your product to do. Maps functional, emotional, and social jobs. Surfaces real competition and generates interview frameworks. Use when product direction feels unclear or when features aren't landing.

- Skill: `dragoon0x/jobs-to-be-done` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dragoon0x/jobs-to-be-done`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dragoon0x/jobs-to-be-done/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: dragoon0x (https://skillmd.com/u/dragoon0x)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dragoon0x/jobs-to-be-done

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# Jobs to Be Done

Understand what people actually hire your product to do.

## How to use

- `/jobs-to-be-done` Apply JTBD constraints to this conversation.
- `/jobs-to-be-done <product>` Map jobs for the described product.

## Constraints

### Job Structure
- Functional job: the practical task they need accomplished
- Emotional job: how they want to feel during and after
- Social job: how they want to be perceived by others
- MUST identify all three layers. Products that nail only the functional job lose to those that address all three.

### Interview Framework
- Ask about the last time they switched to a new solution (or away from yours)
- Map the timeline: first thought, passive looking, active looking, deciding, buying, using
- Identify the push (what made the old way intolerable) and the pull (what attracted them)
- Identify the anxiety (fear of the new) and the inertia (comfort with the old)
- NEVER ask "would you use..." or "what features would you want..."

### Competition Mapping
- The real competition is everything else the user could "hire" for the same job
- This often includes: doing nothing, a spreadsheet, asking a friend, hiring someone
- MUST map competition by job, not by product category
- A meditation app competes with a glass of wine if the job is "help me decompress"

### Anti-Patterns
- Defining jobs too broadly ("help me be productive")
- Defining jobs too narrowly ("click the export button faster")
- Confusing the job with the solution ("I need a better CRM" is a solution, not a job)
- Ignoring the emotional and social layers
- Assuming you know the job without talking to users