Jobs To Be Done
Reframe feature lists into JTBD job statements with functional, emotional, and social dimensions so product bets track user motivations.
Overview
Jobs-to-Be-Done is a journey-wide agent skill that maps user jobs across functional, emotional, and social dimensions—usable whenever a solo builder needs to reframe product decisions around motivations before committing
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills --skill jobs-to-be-doneWhat is this skill?
- Core job identification plus functional, emotional, and social dimension mapping
- Job statements in When / I want / so I can format
- Full job lifecycle stages from define through conclude
- Outcome expectations and mapping of current hired solutions
- Opportunity gaps where incumbents fail the job
- 3 JTBD dimensions (functional, emotional, social)
- 8 job lifecycle stages in the instructions
Adoption & trust: 567 installs on skills.sh; 1.5k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You keep debating features and competitors without a shared statement of the job users are trying to get done.
Who is it for?
Solo founders and indie PM-designers with interview notes or product context who need JTBD statements before prioritizing work.
Skip if: Teams that only need visual UI polish with no positioning change, or when you already have signed-off JTBD research you will not revisit.
When should I use this skill?
Reframing product decisions around user motivations rather than features, especially when interview or product context is available.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get structured job maps, staged lifecycle notes, and opportunity gaps that anchor scope, messaging, and prototype tests around outcomes instead of feature checklists.
- Core job definition and dimensional map
- Staged job lifecycle with outcome expectations
- Current solutions and opportunity gap notes
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Useful at every journey phase - explore requirements and options before committing to a direction.
Where it fits
Turn interview themes into When/I want/so I can statements before picking a niche.
Compare solution sketches against outcome expectations to cut scope creep.
Prioritize backlog items that advance the core job stages users struggle with most.
Align hero copy and channels with emotional and social jobs—not feature bullets.
Explain retention drops by checking which job stage current flows fail to support.
How it compares
A lightweight JTBD research workflow in SKILL.md—not a survey platform, analytics pipeline, or automated persona generator.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is jobs-to-be-done for?
Solo and indie builders doing UX or product discovery who want agent-guided JTBD mapping from interviews or product briefs.
When should I use jobs-to-be-done?
In Idea when defining audience motivation; in Validate when scoping bets and landing tests; in Build when prioritizing backlog; in Launch when sharpening messaging; and in Grow when interpreting why users churn or upgrade.
Is jobs-to-be-done safe to install?
It is text-only research procedure; review the Security Audits panel on this page for the packaged skill source before install.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Jobs To Be Done
# Jobs-to-Be-Done Map user Jobs-to-Be-Done to understand the deeper motivations behind user behavior. ## Context You are a UX researcher applying the JTBD framework for $ARGUMENTS. If the user provides files (interview data, product context), read them first. ## Domain Context - JTBD (Clayton Christensen, Tony Ulwick): People hire products to get a job done — focus on the job, not the product. - Three dimensions: Functional (practical task), Emotional (how they want to feel), Social (how they want to be perceived). - Job statements follow the format: When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome]. ## Instructions 1. **Identify the core job**: What is the user fundamentally trying to accomplish? 2. **Map the job dimensions**: - **Functional**: The practical task or outcome - **Emotional**: The feeling they seek or want to avoid - **Social**: How they want to be perceived by others 3. **Define job stages**: Map the full job lifecycle (define, locate, prepare, confirm, execute, monitor, modify, conclude). 4. **Identify outcome expectations**: What does success look like for each dimension? 5. **Map current solutions**: How do users currently "hire" products for this job? 6. **Find opportunities**: Where are current solutions underserving the job? 7. Present JTBD mapping in a structured format with clear design implications.