The Dangers of Designerly Jobs-to-be-Done

Innovation doesn't begin at Design

Disclaimer: I do not consider myself to be a serial innovator. I’ve done some very innovative things in the software world 10-15 years ago that are just now surfacing on the current platforms. I did these things to solve problems for clients. Really cool then, but the technology is so much better now and I see the platform solutions as being the real innovations.

Solving for opportunities in the market has been a thing for as long as humans have conducted business of any kind. Some are able to zero in on an actual problem and find a root cause. Others come up with ideas and iterate solutions until they find a problem. Both can be successful. But one is prone to excessive failures and expense in the pursuit of those successes.

We’ve all heard the term “throwing good money after bad.” Some people recognize that we are failing to innovate at a pace that would benefit everyone; both businesses and society as a whole. So in good conscience, they come up with solutions that embrace our collec…