The Job-to-Be-Done of an iPad Menu

I recently saw some Twitter conversation on the topic of jobs-to-be-done and the growing trend to digitize menus and provide them through iPads to customers. I actually experienced this in the Delta Terminal at LaGuardia last fall while waiting for a flight home. I can tell you it works, because it gives you something to focus on other than planes and people. I ordered a meal and a few drinks right from my gate and enjoyed them in a very comfortable seating area; and I spent way more than I normally would have!

While the topic of #JTBD seems new, it’s actually been openly discussed for over 10 years now, and employed in the world of outcome-based innovation for twice that long. Therefore, I have to challenge some of the things I’m hearing out there that clearly attempt (knowingly or unknowingly) to redefine what it is. Jobs-to-be-done is a customer-centric view of the world; but only when it’s used in the proper context — the customer. Here’s an example of where I see confusion (sorry …