Product Managers Today: "We are constantly trying to strike the right balance between pursuing innovative ideas and effectively executing on our current product roadmap"
Your Product Roadmap is a Joke: Time to Get Serious About Customer Needs.
Forget the backlog; focus on the jobs your customers are desperately trying to accomplish.
For too long, product management has been stuck in a rut, obsessed with churning out features like a broken vending machine. We pat ourselves on the back for every new button, every tweaked interface, all while the market yawns and our products gather digital dust. Are we truly building solutions that resonate, or are we just blindly following internal whims and the siren song of "more features equals more value?" It's time for a brutal truth: your feature-driven approach is likely missing the mark, and it's time for a radical shift.
The Feature Factory Fallacy
Let's face it, the traditional product management playbook is flawed. We rely on intuition, biased by our own product vision. We conduct market research that often scratches the surface, telling us what people are doing, not why. We focus on solutions before truly understanding the problem, leading to products that are technically proficient but ultimately fail to deliver real value. This obsession with the "solution-space" blinds us to the fundamental question: What job are our customers actually trying to get done?.
Enter Jobs to be Done: The Contrarian's Compass
There's a better way, a more profound way to think about product development: Jobs to be Done (JTBD). The core concept is simple yet revolutionary: customers don't buy products; they "hire" them to get a job done. This isn't about the features your product offers; it's about the progress your customers are trying to make in their lives or work. Understanding this "job" is the key to unlocking true product success.
Why Your Current Methods Are a Dangerous Gamble
Think about it. How many times have you launched a feature based on a gut feeling or a competitor's move, only to see it flop? Traditional approaches often lead us down a path of speculation, relying on assumptions and incomplete data. We become enamored with our solutions, crafting over-engineered products that don't truly address the underlying need. JTBD forces us to move beyond this guesswork and focus on the certainty of the customer's desired outcome.
Beyond the Functional: Understanding the Four Dimensions of Need
A "job" isn't just about the task itself. It encompasses four critical dimensions that we often overlook:
Functional: The core task the customer wants to accomplish.
Emotional: The feelings and aspirations associated with getting the job done.
Contextual: The circumstances and environment in which the job takes place.
Situational: The specific triggers and constraints influencing the customer's choices.
Ignoring any of these dimensions is like building a table with missing legs – it might stand for a while, but it's ultimately unstable.
Implementing JTBD: Actionable Insights for the Bold
Ready to ditch the feature factory and embrace a customer-centric approach? Here's how to implement JTBD:
Communicate the Job: Ensure your entire team deeply understands the customer's job and their desired outcomes.
Uncover Success Metrics: Define precisely how customers measure success in getting their job done.
Focus on Customer Success: Base every product decision on customer data and their desired outcomes, not internal opinions or stakeholder whims.
Master JTBD Research: Deeply explore the functional, emotional, contextual, and situational dimensions of the job through rigorous research.
The JTBD Advantage: Deeper Understanding, Real Results
Embracing JTBD isn't just a philosophical exercise; it delivers tangible benefits:
Deeper User Understanding: Move beyond superficial demographics to understand the core motivations driving customer behavior.
Targeted Solutions: Design features that directly address the identified job, eliminating wasted effort on unnecessary bells and whistles.
Enhanced User Delight: Create intuitive, valuable, and enjoyable experiences that truly resonate with your customers.
Achieve Product-Market Fit: Build products that customers eagerly "hire," leading to sustainable growth and market success.
Needs-First Innovation: The Efficient Path to Success
Consider the difference between an "Ideas-First" and a "Needs-First" innovation strategy. The former throws a bunch of ideas at the wall, hoping something sticks. The latter, driven by JTBD, starts with a deep understanding of customer needs, leading to targeted solutions with a much higher chance of market success. Which approach sounds more efficient and effective to you?
The Iconoclast's Call: It's Time for a Product Revolution
Product management is at a crossroads. We can continue down the well-trodden path of feature-driven development, churning out mediocre products that fail to truly connect with customers. Or, we can embrace the iconoclastic power of Jobs to be Done and revolutionize our approach. Stop building features in a vacuum. Start understanding the jobs your customers are trying to get done. It's time to be bold, to challenge the status quo, and to build products that people will eagerly hire. Are you ready to join the revolution?
Here’s a link to my more detailed POV: The Product Management Dilemma
You can also get more here: Learn more about JTBD
Mike Boysen - www.pjtbd.com
Why fail fast when you can succeed the first time?
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