The Idea in Brief
We all know that people “hire” products to get jobs done. Office workers hire word-processing software to create documents. Surgeons hire scalpels to dissect soft tissue. But few companies keep this in mind while searching for ideas for breakthrough offerings. Instead, they rely on inquiry methods (such as customer interviews) that don’t generate the most promising ideas or exhaustive sets of possibilities.
To systematically uncover more—and better—innovative ideas, Bettencourt and Ulwick recommend job mapping: Break down a job that customers want done into discrete steps. Then brainstorm ways to make steps easier, faster, or unnecessary.
For example, while cleaning clothes, people don’t notice stubborn stains until they’ve taken the clothes from a dryer and started folding them. If they find a stain, they must repeat the job. A washer that detects persistent stains and takes appropriate action before consumers execute the rest of the job would have huge appeal.
The Idea in Practice
All jobs have the same eight steps. To use job mapping, look for opportunities to help customers at every step:
During this step…#Customers…#Companies can innovate by…#Example1: Define#Determine their goals and plan resources.#Simplifying planning.#Weight Watchers streamlines diet planning by offering a system that doesn’t require calorie counting.2: Locate#Gather items and information needed to do the job.#Making required inputs easier to gather and ensuring they’re available when and where needed.#U-Haul provides customers with prepackaged moving kits containing the number and types of boxes required for a move.3: Prepare#Set up the environment to do the job.#Making set-up less difficult and creating guides to ensure proper set-up of the work area.#Bosch added adjustable levers to its circular saw to accommodate common bevel angles used by roofers to cut wood.4: Confirm#Verify that they’re ready to perform the job.#Giving customers information they need to confirm readiness.#Oracle’s ProfitLogic merchandising optimization software confirms optimal timing and level of a store’s markdowns for each product.5: Execute#Carry out the job.#Preventing problems or delays.#Kimberly-Clark’s Patient Warning System automatically circulates heated water through thermal pads placed on surgery patients to maintain their normal body temperature during surgery.6: Monitor#Assess whether the job is being successfully executed.#Linking monitoring with improved execution.#Nike makes a running shoe containing a sensor that communicates audio feedback about time, distance, pace, and calories burned to an iPod worn by the runner.7: Modify#Make alterations to improve execution.#Reducing the need to make alterations and the number of alterations needed.#By automatically downloading and installing updates, Microsoft’s operating systems remove hassle for computer users. People don’t have to determine which updates are necessary, find the updates, or ensure the updates are compatible with their operating system.8: Conclude#Finish the job or prepare to repeat it.#Designing products that simplify the process of concluding the job.#3M makes a wound dressing that stretches and adheres only to itself—not to patients’ skin or sutures. It thus offers a convenient way for medical personnel to secure dressings at the conclusion of treatment and then remove them after a wound has healed.
We all know that people “hire” products and services to get a job done. Office workers hire word-processing software to create documents and digital recorders to capture meeting notes. Surgeons hire scalpels to dissect soft tissue and electrocautery devices to control patient bleeding. Janitors hire soap dispensers, paper towels, and cleansing fluid to help remove grime from their hands.
