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Yassin Shaar's avatar

I ask "HOW" to find jobs at a lower level, and "WHY" to find jobs at a higher level

Mike Boysen's avatar

"How" about asking "What is stopping you from..."? in order to get to a lower level of abstraction? I get this directly from Law #14 of the Jobs to be Done Philosophy laid out in Scott Burleson's book The Statue in the Stone

Law #14: A JTBD is a solution to accomplish a “Higher Job.” We use this to determine the correct level of a problem statement, in which you ask “Why?” to uncover a broader problem and “What’s stopping you?” for a narrower one.

Burleson, Scott. The Statue in the Stone: Decoding Customer Motivation with the 48 Laws of Jobs-to-be-Done Philosophy . Scott Burleson. Kindle Edition.

Here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Statue-Stone-Motivation-Jobs-be-Done-ebook/dp/B085F37CDQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1644003180&sr=8-1

Tara Newman's avatar

Oh, I do ask that question sometimes. Thanks for the resource.

Tara Newman's avatar

This is my approach. I’d love to hear what others say.

Mike Boysen's avatar

What do you take into consideration when deciding that you've arrived at the right level of abstraction (for you)?

Yassin Shaar's avatar

That’s a good question. I use my understanding of the solution space to decide on the level of abstraction. How do you go about this?

Mike Boysen's avatar

Generally I'd go as I high as I can and still be actionable (current capabilities). Alternatively, you could go higher if you're seeking longer term road maps and/or business model innovation. That's just me spitballing