If you work with UX, product, or innovation, you’ve probably heard of Jobs To Be Done (JTBD). But does this framework actually deliver what it promises? On Good Morning UX, we had the privilege of chatting with none other than Jim Kalbach, author of Jobs to Be Done Playbook, to find out if this methodology is really all that—or if we’re just riding another hype wave. 😏
JTBD vs. Experience Mapping: what’s the difference?
The conversation started by clarifying the relationship between Jobs To Be Done and Experience Mapping. According to Kalbach, both approaches are human-centered, but they have important differences:
✅ Experience Mapping focuses on the user journey within their interaction with the company. It helps understand how to improve an existing product or service.
✅ Jobs To Be Done, on the other hand, ignores the current solution completely and tries to understand what drives people to adopt any solution. In other words, while experience mapping helps you optimize something, JTBD helps you see opportunities that no one else has noticed yet.
And of course, the discussion couldn’t go on without some controversy…
Does JTBD kill Personas?
One of the most interesting moments in the conversation was when we discussed the role of personas in the JTBD context. Jim was pretty straightforward: he’s not against personas, but he believes we should flip the script.
Instead of starting with personas and then trying to understand what they do, we should first understand what people want to accomplish (their “jobs”) and only then analyze which types of users share those goals.
This completely changes the way we approach research and product strategy! 🔄
The biggest mistake when applying JTBD
If there’s one thing JTBD promises, it’s clarity. But according to Kalbach, many companies do the opposite: they overcomplicate the method instead of using it to simplify decisions.
He pointed out a classic mistake: companies that try to fit JTBD into their existing product structure instead of using it to discover what the product should actually be.
The result? A bunch of poorly validated assumptions, wasted time and money, and a product that doesn’t really solve a problem.
So, does JTBD work or not?
According to Kalbach, yes, but it depends on how you use it. He emphasized that JTBD is not a silver bullet, but a powerful tool for innovation, especially when combined with other methods.
The key is to stop seeing JTBD as a replacement and start using it as a complement to UX Research, experience mapping, and product strategy. If applied correctly, it helps you understand what truly drives your users—and that can make all the difference between an average product and one that actually solves problems.