Jobs to be done worksheet template

Bring your team together to brainstorm and list all the jobs and tasks you’re working on. Be sure to include a diverse array of stakeholders so that you can avoid any blind spots.
Group the tasks and ideas into themes using affinity clustering.
Take a vote on the core job(s) to be done — this will help you refine your approach and make sure you’re aligned on what is most important.
Consolidate your core job(s) to be done

Step 2: Assign jobs to executors

Once you've completed the brainstorming portion of your session, use the ‘Job Executor’ section to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders, as well as create a proto-persona of the job executor.

Step 3: Map the stages for each job

Next, it's time to use the ‘Job Map’ section to define the stages for each job — customize to your needs or to fit the usual developmental steps for your team, including sections for research and desired outcomes.

Step 4: Prioritize your jobs to be done

Finally, use the ‘Prioritization’ section to determine the order of priority for each job and get aligned on next steps with your team.

Tips for running a jobs to be done exercise

To get the most out of the Mural jobs to be done template with your team, you should:

Make sure to include a variety of stakeholders so that you get a complete picture of all the tasks and jobs you’re working on
Use color coding to group ideas together and Mural’s anonymous voting feature to determine how best to move forward
Track the progress of your jobs across each stage of development so that you’ll have a single source of truth for your project

Start from this template

Jobs to be done worksheet template FAQs

What is an example of a job to be done?

Tasks are the individual steps that you complete in order to finish a job. For example, making a cup of coffee involves the tasks of grinding the beans, adding water to the coffee pot, and turning on the machine. In contrast, a job is a higher-level goal that you are trying to accomplish. In the context of coffee, the job might be to get a energized for the day ahead. The important thing to remember is that jobs to be done are always overarching goals, while tasks are the specific steps that you take to complete those goals. When you're trying to prioritize your time, it's helpful to think in terms of jobs to be done rather than tasks. That way, you can ensure that you're always working towards your most important goals.

How do you write a job story?

A job story is a specific type of narrative that describes the goals, motivations, and challenges of a user as they complete a task. Job stories are typically written in the format of "As a , I want to , so that ." For example, "As a coffee drinker, I want to be able to make a cup of coffee, so that I can get energized for the day ahead." Job stories are a helpful tool for team members to use when they're trying to prioritize their time and focus on the most important tasks.

Why is it important to organize tasks into jobs to be done?

If we don't take the time to prioritize our tasks, we can quickly become overwhelmed and bogged down in work. That's why it's important to prioritize tasks into jobs to be done.

By identifying the most important jobs that need to be done, we can ensure that we allocate our time and energy in the most efficient way possible. This not only allows us to get more done, but it also helps to reduce stress levels and increase our overall productivity.

So next time you're feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list or backlog, meet with your team to prioritize tasks into jobs to be done. That way you'll have a clear path to success, with defined roles and responsibilities, and the right goals in mind.