Jobs to Be Done
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a theory of consumer motivation developed by Clayton Christensen and colleagues at Harvard Business School. It holds that customers don't buy products — they "hire" them to get a job done. Understanding the functional, emotional, and social dimensions of the job customers are trying to accomplish — rather than focusing on product features or customer demographics — produces dramatically better innovation and positioning. Used by Intercom, Basecamp, and Airbnb to drive product strategy.