Jobs to Be Done Analysis for Product Managers: template, structure and example

When to use it

Use it in Discover when you need to turn scattered research into a clear reason for what to prioritise, not just activity. It suits the moment when you are deciding where to focus and must show the link between the evidence and the decision being asked for. Written well, it precedes and feeds a Customer Problem Statement.

When not to use it

Do not use it to define a single problem for sign-off; a Customer Problem Statement states one problem plainly and is the better next step. If you are already specifying a solution, a PRD in Define is where scope, behaviour and acceptance conditions belong, not a jobs analysis.

What you need before you start

• Qualitative and quantitative research from customers and their situations
• The product decision or discovery question the analysis is meant to support
• The customers, segments, account contexts and situations in which the jobs arise
• Evidence of current solutions and workarounds customers use today
• An honest read of source quality, recency, coverage and any contradicting signals
• Named owners and a clear view of risks and open questions

Recommended structure, section by section

1. Summary — The core jobs, the underserved and overserved outcomes, the confidence level, and the implications for product focus and differentiation.
2. Purpose and Decision Context — The product decision, opportunity, or discovery question the jobs-to-be-done analysis is meant to support.
3. Customer, Segment and Situation — The customers, segments, account contexts, and situations in which the jobs arise.
4. Job Statement — The concise job statement capturing the progress sought, the situation, the motivation, and the expected outcome.
5. Core Functional Jobs — The practical tasks, the progress, and the functional outcomes customers are trying to achieve.
6. Emotional and Social Jobs — The emotional drivers, social pressures, identity factors, and confidence needs linked to the job.
7. Triggers and Forces — The triggering events, the push and pull factors, the anxieties, and the habits that shape switching behaviour.
8. Desired Outcomes and Success Criteria — The measurable outcomes and success criteria customers use to judge whether the job has been done well.
9. Current Solutions and Workarounds — The products, services, manual processes, spreadsheets, and internal tools used to get the job done today.
10. Underserved and Overserved Outcomes — The outcomes poorly met, over-served, under-valued, or disproportionately costly in the current alternatives.
11. Segments and Context Variations — The ways the job, the trigger, the priority, and the success criteria vary across personas, segments, or environments.
12. Opportunities and Product Implications — The product opportunities, the differentiation angles, the experience improvements, and the prioritisation implications the jobs reveal.
13. Evidence and Confidence — The evidence base behind the document, the quality and recency of its sources, the coverage and consistency it provides, the contradicting signals, and the confidence level in the conclusions.
14. Recommended Next Steps — The jobs to pursue, the validation activities, prototype tests, analytics checks, or delivery inputs the analysis indicates.
15. Ownership and Review — Who owns the document, the accountable owners and contributors, where the source evidence lives, the review rhythm and decision rights, and the events that trigger a revisit.

What good looks like

The best analysis feels practical: it teaches the reader what matters and then helps them act. Quality means the reader can see the link between the information presented and the decision being asked for, with assumptions stated and trade-offs visible. It is written for people who were not in the original conversations, so a new reader can describe its purpose, see the recommended next step, identify who approved it, and know what would trigger an update.

Quality checklist

• Core functional, emotional and social jobs are captured, not just tasks
• Desired outcomes are measurable, with the success criteria customers actually use
• Underserved and overserved outcomes are identified with their product implications
• Evidence, its quality and recency, and any contradicting signals are set out with a stated confidence level
• Risks, decisions and named owners are clear, and open questions are visible
• The recommendation, accountable owner, dependencies and date of next review are agreed
• Final sign-off sits with the Product Manager, with accountable product, design and delivery leads in agreement

Who creates it, and when

In Gensudo this document is a governed template for:

• Product Manager in the Discover phase (as “Jobs to Be Done Analysis”)

Where it sits in the flow

Before this document: Product Discovery Brief for Product Managers · Market Research Report for Heads of Product

This unblocks: Customer Problem Statement for Product Managers · Persona Document for Product Managers · Opportunity Assessment for Product Managers

Frequently asked questions