ajtbd-methodology

Advanced Jobs To Be Done Methodology

This skill provides you with deep knowledge of the Advanced JTBD methodology for product development, market analysis, and customer segmentation.

When to Use This Skill

Automatically invoke this skill when the user:

• Asks about product-market fit
• Needs help with customer segmentation
• Wants to analyze market opportunities
• Is launching a new product
• Needs to validate product assumptions
• Asks about customer jobs, needs, or motivations
• Wants to create value propositions or landing pages
• Discusses product strategy or growth

Core AJTBD Principles

1. Jobs Are Primary

Job (Work) = A goal a person wants to achieve to satisfy their psychological need. Always occurs in a specific situation with a desired result.

Formula:

When:
  - Context: {situation}
  - Past experience/knowledge: {what they know}
  - Personal characteristics: {traits affecting the job}
  - Negative emotions: {what they feel now}
  - Trigger: {what activated this job}

Want: {expected result}
  - Success criteria: {how they'll evaluate success}

So that: {higher-level job result}
  - And: {feel differently after achieving the result}

2. Job Hierarchy

• Big Job - Higher-level work that provides context for Core Job, but product doesn't fully complete it
• Core Job - The highest-level job the product completes fully. What customer actually pays for.
• Small Jobs - Jobs below Big Job level. Core Job is part of Small Jobs.
• Micro Jobs - Low-level tasks, often "necessary evil" (e.g., "fill in form", "click button")

3. Solutions Are Replaceable, Jobs Are Not

• Products compete to be "hired" for a job
• Customer hires the solution that best completes the job by combined factors
• Consideration Set - All solutions the person knows that can complete the job
• Switching happens only when new solution wins in the Consideration Set

4. Segmentation by Jobs

Real segmentation answers three questions:

1. Can we create additional value knowing this segmentation?
2. Can we achieve target profit per unit in this segment?
3. Can we scale and create demand in this segment?

Segment = Bundle of jobs + context + criteria

• Core Jobs (1-4 jobs)
• Big Job (1 job, higher motivation)
• Context (life/business situation, role, trigger)
• Performance criteria (quickly, cheaply, reliably, etc.)
• Economic characteristics (frequency, budget, LTV potential)

5. Never Use "Pain" - Use Jobs

Wrong: "We solve the pain of slow delivery" Right: "When I need to receive a package quickly, I want it delivered same-day so I can complete my project on deadline"

Pain is a consequence of a solution performing below expectations. Focus on the job, not the pain.

6. Critical Job Sequence

The sequence of jobs a person must complete to achieve their Big Job. If any job in the critical sequence breaks, the entire value chain fails.

Optimization priorities:

1. Complete ALL jobs in the critical sequence for focus sub-segments
2. Complete jobs MORE EFFECTIVELY in the critical sequence
3. Remove problematic jobs from critical path

Risk Analysis (RAT)

Five Core Risk Categories

1. Market - Large enough, growing, no critical regulatory barriers
2. Segment - Economically attractive segment exists with jobs and budget
3. Value - Segment will buy the specific value hypothesis
4. Unit Economics - Target margin per paying customer, profitable cohorts
5. Acquisition - Can create and scale demand, working acquisition channels

Risk Scoring

• P (Probability 1-5): 1 = strong empirics/sales; 5 = pure hypothesis
• I (Impact 1-5): 1 = local failure; 5 = kills business
• Score = P × I, sort by Score↓

When to Research vs MVP

Research (AJTBD interviews):

• Unsure about job/segment existence
• MVP cost > $50K
• Can learn from competitors' failures

MVP:

• Segments are clear but need purchase validation
• MVP cost < $20K
• Ready for many iterations

Available Resources in Plugin

The plugin includes the complete AJTBD book at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/ajtbd-methodology/references/:

• part1.md - First Principles (job hierarchy, formulas, core concepts)
• part2.md - Segmentation and Market Analysis
• part3.md - Product Development and PMF
• part4.md - Advanced Topics and Risk Analysis (RAT)
• part5.md - Implementation Strategies

Note: The product-analyst agent has Read access and can study these in depth when needed.

How to Apply This Skill

When helping users with product questions:

1. Frame everything through jobs - "What job is the customer trying to complete?"
2. Identify the hierarchy - What's the Core Job? Big Job? Critical sequence?
3. Understand the Consideration Set - What solutions compete for this job?
4. Validate economic attractiveness - Is this segment profitable and scalable?
5. Find the risks - What assumptions could kill the product?

Quick Reference Commands

Point users to these commands for specific analyses:

• /rat - Risk analysis (RAT)
• /b2b-segments - B2B segment discovery
• /b2c-segments - B2C segment discovery
• /jobs-graph - Jobs graph generation
• /landing - Landing page creation

Or suggest the product-analyst agent for deep, autonomous analysis with full book access.

Key Distinctions from Traditional Approaches

Traditional	AJTBD
Fix customer pains	Complete customer jobs
Segment by demographics	Segment by job bundles + context
Features and benefits	Jobs and criteria
Product-centric	Job-centric
"What do customers want?"	"What jobs are customers trying to complete?"

Remember: Jobs are primary. Everything else is derivative.