Product diagnostics through jtbd lens skill

Product Diagnostics Through JTBD Lens

Checklist: Do You Know Your Product's Job?

Level 1: Basic Understanding

• You can describe the job in one sentence without using the product name
• You know the circumstances in which the job arises
• You know what customer did BEFORE using your product
• You understand the functional, emotional, AND social dimensions

Level 2: Deep Understanding

• You know what you really compete with (not just "direct competitors")
• You understand push/pull and habit/anxiety forces for your customer
• You can distinguish Big Hire from Little Hire
• You know why customers "fire" your product

Level 3: Organizational Implementation

• Product decisions are filtered through the job lens
• Metrics measure job completion, not just usage
• Roadmap is oriented toward better job execution
• Team can articulate the customer's job

Red Flags - Signs You Don't Know the Job

1. You describe product through features - "it's a tool for X with Y feature"
2. Competition is only "similar products" - you don't see non-obvious competitors
3. You segment by demographics - "target is men 25-35"
4. High acquisition, low retention - you win Big Hire, lose Little Hire
5. Customers use product "wrong" - they create workarounds

Diagnostic Framework

Why Aren't Customers Buying?

Symptom	Probable Cause	Action
They don't know we exist	Job is poorly articulated in messaging	Rewrite messaging around the job
They know but don't try	Anxiety about new > Pull	Reduce friction, offer guarantees
They try but don't buy	Product doesn't do the job	Investigate gap between promise and reality
They buy but don't use	Little Hire lost	Redesign the moment of use
They use but churn	Job changed or better "employee" appeared	Investigate "firing" reasons

"Firing" Interview (Churn Interview)

Questions for customers who left:

1. "What did you do before us? Why did you come to us?"
2. "What changed that made you start looking for alternatives?"
3. "What ultimately convinced you to leave?"
4. "What do you do now instead of us? Does it do the job better?"
5. "If we could change one thing, what would it be?"

"Hiring" Interview (New Customer Interview)

Questions for new customers (within 2 weeks):

1. "When did you first think about looking for a solution?"
2. "What was the trigger - what was happening then?"
3. "What alternatives did you look for? What disqualified them?"
4. "What ultimately convinced you to choose us?"
5. "What were you afraid of before buying?"
6. "Is the product doing what you expected?"

JTBD Metrics

Instead of Traditional Metrics:

Traditional Metric	Problem	JTBD Metric
DAU/MAU	Doesn't tell if job is being done	% of completed "jobs"
Time in app	More ≠ better	Time to job completion
Feature adoption	Features ≠ value	Does feature help with job?
NPS	General satisfaction	Would you hire us again for this job?
Churn rate	Retrospective	Leading indicators of "searching for alternatives"

Job Completion Rate

Define what "job done" means and measure:

• % of sessions where job was completed
• Time to first success (Time to Value)
• Repeatability of "hiring" (hire frequency)

---

Post-Launch Iteration

Continuous Job Discovery

After launch, keep learning:

Usage data signals:

• Features used ≠ Features valued (may use out of necessity)
• Time spent ≠ Job done (frustration can increase time)
• Feature requests often describe solutions, not jobs

Ongoing research:

• Interview new customers within 2 weeks of purchase
• Interview churned customers within 1 week of leaving
• Observe actual usage (session recordings, support tickets)
• Track "aha moments" that predict retention

Iteration Framework

Signal	What It Means	Action
High acquisition, low retention	Win Big Hire, lose Little Hire	Investigate moment of use
Feature used but low satisfaction	Functional works, emotional doesn't	Research emotional dimension
Unexpected use patterns	Hidden jobs emerging	Interview these users
Power users vs. casual users	Different jobs being done	May need segmentation

---

Churn Analysis Through JTBD Lens

Why "Firing" Happens

Customers fire products when:

1. Job changed - Circumstances evolved (company grew, life changed)
2. Better "employee" appeared - Competitor does job better
3. Job wasn't being done - Product never delivered on promise
4. Friction accumulated - Too hard to use, not worth the effort
5. Priorities shifted - Other jobs became more important

Churn Interview Framework

Timing: Within 1 week of cancellation (memory fresh)

Questions:

Phase	Questions
Original hiring	"When you first signed up, what were you hoping to accomplish?"
Experience	"How well did we help you with that?"
The turn	"When did you start thinking about leaving?"
Alternatives	"What will you do instead? How did you find it?"
The switch	"What ultimately convinced you to leave?"
Retrospective	"If we could change one thing, what would make you stay?"

Churn Patterns to Watch

Pattern	Probable Cause	Investigation
Early churn (<30 days)	Never got job done	Onboarding + activation issues
Churn after initial success	Job completed, no ongoing need	Is this a one-time job?
Churn after competitor mention	Better employee exists	Competitive analysis
Churn with "too complicated"	Friction > value	UX and simplification
Churn without replacement	Job deprioritized	Were we targeting right customers?

Acting on Churn Insights

If job changed: Consider segments, expansion products, or accepting churn as natural If competitor wins: Investigate which dimension they're serving better If job wasn't done: Product or onboarding needs improvement If friction accumulated: UX improvements, training, simplification If priorities shifted: May be targeting wrong customer profile