Value Proposition · Customer jobs and pains · Component
The job statement
What the customer is trying to get done, written in their situation rather than in the language of your product.
The deliverable
What it is
A job statement written in product terms cannot reveal anything, because the answer has been assumed into the question. “Needs our reporting module” is not a job.
The useful version survives the disappearance of your category. If the job would still exist without any product like yours, it has been stated at the right level.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The job
The progress the customer is trying to make, in a form that does not mention your product.
3 attributes: Job · Job type · Customer segment
LearnThe context
The circumstances in which the job arises — who else is involved, and what constrains the choice.
3 attributes: Situation · Others involved · Constraint
LearnThe trigger
What makes the job urgent now rather than continuing to be tolerated.
3 attributes: Trigger event · Window · Source
Learn
Test each job statement by removing your category. If the job disappears, it was a product description.
The other components in customer jobs and pains
The pain list
What goes wrong, costs too much or takes too long when the customer does the job today — ranked by severity rather than by how often it is mentioned.
LearnThe gain list
The outcomes the customer wants beyond removing pain — separated into what is expected and what would genuinely surprise.
Learn