1. Technology to
Job Mapping

2. Technology vs. Jobs
• What is a ‘Technology’?
– “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical
processes, methods, or knowledge”
• can [usually] accomplish multiple tasks
• accomplishes each of these task in different or special ways
• The way tech. accomplishes tasks can be a strength or not
– Indeed technologies are frequently commercialized for other
unanticipated applications
Technology Original Application Major Application
Botox Treat Strabismus Wrinkle Reduction
Viagra Heart Drug Impotence
NASA Algae Oxygenation Baby Formula

3. Technology vs. Jobs
• What is a ‘Job’?
– Customers hire products or services to get a job done
– Jobs can be simple single step tasks or quite complex processes
– This is not what they do but what they are trying to accomplish
– Recognizing underlying goals helps you better understand the job
Hired Product / Service Job Underlying Need or Ultimate Goal
MS Word Write a document Organize / communicate thoughts
Scalpel Cut soft tissue Separate things or access somewhere
Razor or Barber Shave / Remove hair Want to look presentable. Maybe relax?
Microwave dinner, order
fast food, fine dining
Eat supper Sustenance? Have Fun? Maintain health?
Impress someone?
Heart Monitor Track Vitals Reduce complications during surgery

4. Jobs-to-be-Done
• Fast food place wanted to sell more milkshakes
• Innovations based on customer feedback did little
• So they observed…
• Many milkshakes were bought in morning…
• What do people hire a milkshake to do?
– Milkshakes…
• keep you busy for a while during a boring drive
• fill you up all morning
• and can be consumed with one hand while driving
– Alternatives include coffee, banana, donut, bagel, etc… but
also radio stations, CB talk, mobile phone, etc…

5. One secret to being
creative is being able
to smoothly move
between these
levels of analysis and
abstractness
Other alternatives
usually exist that can
also be used to
accomplish the job
That technology or capability can
usually also be applied to accomplish
[other] tasks relevant to other jobs
Products / Services vs.
Technologies & Jobs
Product /
Service
Customer
Job
Technology
/ Capability
A product or service is
built / delivered by
applying some
technologies or
capabilities to do a
customer job
Underlying
technologies may be
unique or common
and the organizations
ability to deliver that
technology / capability
may be strong or weak

6. This could be used for
many other jobs – e.g.,
letting people log / check
in at travel destinations in
car navigation system
Many apps have no
interesting or unique
underlying technology
Products / Services vs.
Technologies & Jobs
Fabergé Big Egg
Hunt Mobile App
Entertainment
/ Win Prizes /
Compete with
Friends
Beacon & GPS
Enabled
hyper-local
interactivity

7. TechConnect Tech’s
• Some Specific Technologies
– Early to late stage
– Temple and External (IEEE, GPSEG, NASA)
• Some Products / Services
– We will first separate underlying technologies / capabilities
from the product / service
– Earlier stage may simply be combining multiple established
technologies or processes in novel ways
• Some Capability / Knowledge Sets
– A set of capabilities, knowledge, or even access to scarce
resources provides a similar exploration opportunity
– Applies for individuals as well as organizations

8. Mapping Tech. to Jobs
• First Deconstruct Technology
– What functions or tasks can the technology accomplish?
– Under what conditions can it accomplish these things?
(include other unique / interesting aspects of how it does things)
– In what instances are these strengths / when might this be good?
(also when might this seem like a weakness or seem bad)
• Second Construct Relevant Jobs
– What customer jobs require these functions or tasks?
(e.g., what are situations when these tasks are useful)
– Which jobs are currently unmet and which have alternative?
(also identify alternatives or competitors when they exist)
– What are the advantages of this technology in each job?
(consider the complete process within the job and the
consumption chain for this product / service vs. alternatives)

9. Mapping T2J Example
• Technology Example
– Engineering solution to rapidly collect air samples on a rocket
during ascent using medical style syringe + membrane closure.
• Functions / Tasks?
– Collects air* samples (Open Question: Does it only sample air?)
• Conditions / unique or interesting aspects of tech?
– Can collect samples on a rapidly moving vehicle
– Could collect samples if the medium to be tested is moving
– Samples collected over time (and linked to time collected)
– Sample collection and analysis / testing steps are separated
– Requires multiple canisters for collection

10. Mapping T2J Example
• When are aspects a strength / weakness?
– Strength:
• When changing conditions must be measured
• When your business model is linked to selling canisters
• When testing / analytical equipment is expensive
– Weakness:
• When you need immediate results (act fast on results)
• When PPM is too low to be accurately captured in canister
– Open Questions:
• PPM threshold and correspondence to container volume
• What about alternative version w/ filter style testing that
changes filters and stores them with time stamp

11. Mapping T2J Example
• What customer jobs require these tasks?
– Pollution Monitoring (Industrial / Factories)
– Air Quality Monitoring (Cities / Regions)
– Hospital-based outbreak tracking (maybe w/ mobile robotic samplers)
– Drone based applications for air sampling over large regions
• Which jobs are unmet and what are alternatives?
– Pollution and air quality monitoring solutions exist
– Existing solutions seem to combine gathering and testing
– Unclear if there are any solutions for hospital application
– Unclear if other applications link sample to time / place
• What are advantages of this technology?
– Existing solutions seem to combine gathering and testing
– Common solutions utilize a filter to catch contaminants
– This works to detect small amounts but cannot track time
– If testing equipment is expensive this may reduce cost

12. Exercise Process Advice
• Ask / reframe question to get the group thinking
– Question assumptions constantly
– Don’t limit statements / claims unnecessarily
• No Judgment / Don’t Filter
– Write down anything that seems relevant
(inc. things others say as well as your own thoughts)
– Find a spot to place every post-it on the template
(if you are not sure put it on the border near where it might go)
– Make sure to identify unanswered questions as you go
– It’s ok to go back to earlier sections to add more ideas
• Post-It Notes
– Write one idea per post-it
– Try to write legibly

13. • Recognizes a universal process in all jobs…
1. Define goals for job
2. Identify / locate inputs
3. Prepare inputs & environ.
4. Confirm everything’s ready
5. Execute job
6. Monitor results
7. Modify process
8. Conclude job
Pre-execution Steps Post-execution Steps
Anatomy of a Customer Job
This is one secret for identifying and
creating advantages or differentiation
from alternatives

14. Customer-Centered
Innovation Map
• Job Level Opportunities
– Can the job be executed in a more efficient or effective sequence?
– Do some customers struggle more with executing the job than
others (for instance, novices versus experts, older versus younger?)
– What struggles or inconveniences do customers experience because
they must rely on multiple solutions to get the job done?
– Is it possible to eliminate the need for particular inputs or outputs
from the job?
– Is it necessary that the customers execute all steps for which they are
currently responsible? Can the burden be automated or shifted to
someone else?
– How many trends affect the way the job is executed in the future?
– In what contexts do customers most struggle with executing the job
today? Where else or when else might customers want to execute
the job?

15. Customer-Centered
Innovation Map
• Step / Task Level Opportunities
– What causes variability (or unreliability) in executing this step?
What causes execution to go off track?
– Do some customers struggle more than others with this step?
– What does this step’s ideal output look like (and in what ways is
the current output less than ideal?)
– Is this step more difficult to execute successfully in some contexts
than others?
– What are the biggest drawbacks of current solutions used to
execute this step?
– What makes executing this step time-consuming or
inconvenient?

16. Prioritizing JTBD’s
• Prioritizing JTBDs is a function of…
– how important the Job / Need is to customers
– how satisfied customers are with existing solutions (alternatives)
• Anything is better than nothing (unmet needs)
– This is true for everything from early transistor radios to cancer
treatments
• Alternatives usually exist…
– Remember identifying alternatives is about recognizing anything
that can do the same job
• However, alternatives may do different jobs
– Look back at the special aspects of how the technology
accomplishes the tasks to identify potential advantages

17. Mapping the
Consumption Chain
• To identify ancillary competitive advantages answer these
questions about alternative technology & your own…
– How do customers become aware of / find / select it?
– How do they order and pay for it and how is it delivered?
– How is it installed / started?
– How is it stored or moved around?
– How is it returned, exchanged, repaired, or serviced?
– How is it disposed of?