Chapter Exercise Solutions

Chapter 3 Answers

Exercise 1: Redefining the Market

This exercise focuses on shifting perspective from a product-defined market to a job-defined market.

1. Product: A high-end espresso machine for home use.

Traditional Market: The home coffee and espresso appliance market.
Core Functional Job (JTBD): "Feel energized and productive to start the day" or "Craft a premium coffee shop experience at home."
Unexpected Competitors:
- Energy drinks or dietary supplements (e.g., Celsius, Nootropics)
- A subscription to a high-end local coffee shop
- Sleep-tracking devices or apps (e.g., Oura Ring, WHOOP) that aim to increase natural energy levels

2. Product: A financial budgeting app (like Mint or YNAB).

Traditional Market: The personal finance and budgeting software market.
Core Functional Job (JTBD): "Gain financial peace of mind" or "Reduce anxiety about money."
Unexpected Competitors:
- A financial advisor
- Mental health services or therapy
- A higher-paying job or a side hustle
- Automatic savings tools offered by a bank

3. Product: A project management software (like Asana or Trello).

Traditional Market: The team productivity and project management software market.
Core Functional Job (JTBD): "Ensure the team is aligned on key priorities" or "Provide clear visibility into project progress for stakeholders."
Unexpected Competitors:
- Daily in-person stand-up meetings
- A shared physical whiteboard
- A well-structured weekly email update
- Shared documents in Google Docs or Notion

Exercise 2: Identifying Key Stakeholder Roles

This exercise tests the ability to distinguish between the Job Executor, Product Lifecycle Support Team, and Purchase Decision Maker.

1. Scenario: Law firm document management system.

Job Executor: The paralegals.
- Justification: They are the primary users who interact with the system daily to perform the core job of searching for, organizing, and sharing case files.
Product Lifecycle Support Team: The firm's IT department.
- Justification: They handle the consumption chain jobs—installation, managing permissions, and troubleshooting—but do not use the software for the core legal work.
Purchase Decision Maker: The managing partners of the firm.
- Justification: They hold the ultimate financial authority and sign off on the purchase, even though the Head of IT influences the decision.

2. Scenario: Family smart home security system.

Job Executor(s): The parents and the teenage child.
- Justification: All of them perform the core job of arming, disarming, and/or monitoring the system as part of their daily lives.
Product Lifecycle Support Team: The tech-savvy parent.
- Justification: This individual handles the installation and configuration updates, supporting the product's lifecycle.
Purchase Decision Maker: Both parents.
- Justification: The text states they are both involved in the final decision and control the family budget for this purchase.

3. Scenario: Online marketplace for freelance writers.

Job Executor(s): The freelance writers AND the businesses.
- Justification: This is a two-sided platform. Writers execute the job of "finding projects to earn income," and businesses execute the job of "sourcing talent for content creation."
Product Lifecycle Support Team: The marketplace's internal customer service and platform teams.
- Justification: They support both sides of the market by handling disputes, managing payments, and ensuring the platform runs smoothly.
Purchase Decision Maker: The freelance writers and the businesses.
- Justification: Both roles make a purchase decision. Businesses decide to pay for content, and writers often pay a platform fee or a percentage of their earnings to access the work.

Exercise 3: Strategic Prioritization

This exercise applies the concepts of the "chicken and egg problem" and the "hard side of the network" to a real-world scenario.

Scenario: The "SkillSwap" two-sided platform connecting learners and experts.

Question: Which group should you prioritize in your initial go-to-market and acquisition strategy: the learners or the experts? Why?

Answer: You should prioritize acquiring the experts (the teachers).

Justification:

Based on the principles in the chapter, the experts represent the "hard side of the network."

They Create the Core Value: The platform's value for learners is entirely dependent on the quality, quantity, and variety of available experts. Without compelling teachers, there is no reason for learners to join. This is analogous to Airbnb needing hosts before it could attract travelers.
They Are Harder to Acquire: It is much more difficult to convince skilled experts to invest their time to create profiles and offer teaching sessions than it is to find people who want to learn something new. The experts are the scarce resource.
Solving the "Cold Start Problem": To solve the "chicken and egg" or "cold start problem," you must first build the supply side of the network. By focusing on acquiring a critical mass of experts, you create the inventory that makes the platform attractive and functional for the "easy side" (the learners). Once a strong base of experts is established, attracting learners becomes a much easier task.

Chapter 5 Answers

Solutions

Solution to Exercise 1: Map a Personal Job

Let's use the example job, "do the laundry."

Core Functional Job: Get clothes clean for wearing.
Job Map:
- Define:
  1. Determine if enough dirty laundry exists to warrant a load.
  2. Assess the type of laundry to be done (e.g., colors, whites, delicates).
- Locate: 3. Gather dirty laundry from various locations. 4. Gather necessary cleaning supplies (detergent, fabric softener).
- Prepare: 5. Transport laundry to the washing machine. 6. Sort laundry into appropriate loads. 7. Set up the washing machine with the correct settings.
- Confirm: 8. Verify that no inappropriate items are in the load (e.g., pens, electronics).
- Execute: 9. Run the washing cycle. 10. Run the drying cycle.
- Monitor: 11. Check if the clothes are sufficiently dry.
- Modify: 12. Run an additional drying cycle if clothes are still damp.
- Conclude: 13. Fold and organize the clean laundry. 14. Put the clean laundry away in its proper place.
Solution-Agnostic Check: The steps above are solution-agnostic. They don't mention a specific brand of washing machine, a type of detergent, or a specific method for sorting. They apply whether you are using a modern machine, a laundromat, or washing by hand.

Solution to Exercise 2: Job Map vs. Customer Journey Map

Customer Journey Map (Example: Buying an AMC movie ticket via the app):
- Action: Hear about a new movie from a friend.
- Touchpoint: Open the AMC Theatres app on my phone.
- Action: Search for the movie title and select a showtime.
- Action: Choose my seats on the seat map.
- Feeling: Annoyed when a $2.50 convenience fee is added.
- Touchpoint: Pay using Apple Pay integrated into the app.
- Feeling: Relieved that checkout is fast.
- Action: Receive a QR code ticket in my email and in the app.
- Touchpoint: Get the QR code scanned at the theater entrance.
Job Map (Core Job: "Secure access to an event"):
1. Define: Determine the type of event to attend.
2. Locate: Identify available event options and showtimes.
3. Prepare: Organize attendees and select specific seats/tickets.
4. Confirm: Verify event details, time, and cost.
5. Execute: Complete the transaction to acquire the ticket(s).
6. Monitor: Confirm receipt of proof of access (the ticket).
7. Modify: Make changes to the booking if necessary (e.g., cancel, rebook).
8. Conclude: Store the ticket for easy retrieval at the event.
Key Difference: The Customer Journey Map documents my personal experience with a specific solution (the AMC app) and includes my emotions and solution-specific pain points (the fee), while the Job Map describes the universal, functional process anyone goes through to get the job done, regardless of the tool they use.

Solution to Exercise 3: Find the Right Granularity

A. Get educated: Too Broad. This is the core job itself, not a step within it. It encompasses the entire process and isn't actionable as a single step.
B. Click the "play" button on a video lesson: Too Granular. This is a micro-action. The more meaningful job step is "Consume educational content," which this action is a small part of.
C. Identify knowledge gaps: Just Right. This is a distinct, critical thinking step at the beginning of the process. You can innovate here with assessment tools or skill-mapping software.
D. Evaluate potential learning resources: Just Right. This is a key decision-making phase where a person compares options (e.g., courses, books, mentors). Innovation could focus on better review systems or recommendation engines.
E. Type a search query into a search engine: Too Granular. This is a sub-task of a larger step, "Locate potential learning resources."
F. Apply the learned skill in a practical setting: Just Right. This is a crucial step in the "Conclude" phase of learning, where the user validates that the job was done successfully.

Solution to Exercise 4: Competitive Analysis

Job Map (Core Job: "Find a new residence to occupy"):
1. Define: Determine housing needs (budget, size, location, amenities).
2. Locate: Find available properties that match the criteria.
3. Prepare: Organize and schedule property viewings (virtual or in-person).
4. Confirm: Evaluate the property and surrounding neighborhood to verify fit.
5. Execute: Submit an application and necessary documentation.
6. Monitor: Track the status of the application.
7. Modify: Negotiate lease terms or offer details.
8. Conclude: Sign the lease agreement and secure the keys.
Competitive Coverage:
- Step 1 (Define): Zillow is much better with its detailed filters. Craigslist is poor.
- Step 2 (Locate): Zillow is better due to its map search and alerts. Craigslist is functional but basic.
- Step 3 (Prepare): Zillow is better with integrated scheduling and 3D tours. Craigslist requires manual, offline coordination.
- Step 4 (Confirm): Zillow is better with tools like Walk Score, school ratings, and price history. Craigslist is poor.
- Step 5 (Execute): Both are poor. Zillow has some application features, but this step mostly happens offline.
- Step 6 (Monitor): Both are very poor. There is no integrated way to track application status.
- Step 7 (Modify): Both are very poor. Negotiation happens entirely offline.
- Step 8 (Conclude): Both are very poor. This is almost always an offline, manual process.
Innovation Opportunity: There is a clear opportunity to create a solution that helps users with the final, high-stakes steps of the job: Execute, Monitor, Modify, and Conclude. A new product could focus on standardizing the application process, providing a secure platform for submitting documents, tracking application status in real-time, and facilitating digital lease negotiation and signing. This would address the most underserved and often most stressful part of the entire job.

Chapter 6 Answers

Of course. Based on the detailed interview transcript with Sarah, here is a comprehensive analysis of the different needs, jobs, and factors derived from her experience, structured according to the Jobs-to-be-Done and Outcome-Driven Innovation frameworks.

Desired Outcomes

These are the core, measurable metrics the customer uses to judge success when getting the job done. They are solution-agnostic and stable over time.

Derived Outcome: Minimize the time it takes to transfer information from a proposal or timesheet to an invoice.

Quote: "I’m always switching between three different applications: my spreadsheet, my proposal files, and then QuickBooks."
Derived Outcome: Minimize the likelihood of introducing errors when creating an invoice.

Quote: "I’m always so paranoid about typos. I double, triple-check everything because I once sent an invoice to a big client and accidentally billed them for $15,000 instead of$ 1,500."
Derived Outcome: Minimize the time it takes to confirm a client has received and viewed an invoice.

Quote: "It's a black box. I'm never quite sure if the person I sent it to is the right person, if they got it, if it went to their spam folder..."
Derived Outcome: Minimize the time it takes to determine if an overdue invoice has been paid.

Quote: "I find myself compulsively checking my banking app every morning, which is a total waste of time and mental energy."
Derived Outcome: Minimize the number of steps required to resubmit a rejected invoice.

Quote: "I had to get the code, re-create the invoice, re-submit it to the portal, which reset the 60-day clock."

Emotional Needs (Personal & Social Jobs)

These describe how the customer wants to feel (personal) or be perceived by others (social) while executing the core job.

Social Need: Be perceived as a polished and professional business owner by clients.

Quote: "I want them to see me as a polished, professional business, not some amateur working from her kitchen table who can't type numbers correctly."
Personal Need: Avoid feeling anxious about the status of outstanding payments.

Quote: "This constant, low-level financial anxiety is the enemy of deep work."
Personal Need: Avoid feeling confrontational when reminding clients about payments.

Quote: "Ugh. The awkward follow-up. I absolutely dread it. It feels so… confrontational, like I'm a debt collector."
Personal Need: Feel confident that business finances are under control without constant monitoring.

Quote: "The dream is to feel totally confident that the business finances are running smoothly in the background, without me having to constantly poke and prod them. That would be real peace of mind."

Complexity Factors

These are the situational or contextual variables that make it harder for some customers to get the job done successfully.

Client Type: The job is more difficult when dealing with large corporate clients who have rigid procurement systems compared to smaller startups.

Quote: "But my big corporate clients... that's a whole different beast. They have these rigid procurement systems."
Location/Situation: The job is more difficult when traveling or on vacation, away from a normal work setup.

Quote: "When I’m traveling for a conference or trying to take a rare vacation, keeping up with invoicing is a complete nightmare."
Project Staffing: The job is more complex when using subcontractors who must be paid before the client's payment is received.

Quote: "When I bring in a freelance developer... I have to pay them out of my own pocket, and then I have to float that cost for 30, 60, or... 150 days."
Client's Tools: The job is harder when required to use a client's specific, inefficient tools (e.g., a "clunky" online portal).

Quote: "I have to log in to their clunky, ancient-looking online portal, manually enter all the same information again..."

Consumption Chain Jobs

These are the tasks a customer must perform throughout the lifecycle of owning and using a specific product or service (in this case, primarily QuickBooks).

Consumption Job: Configure the software for a new client.

Quote: "Also, setting up a new client is a pain; there are so many fields to fill out that I don't even use."
Consumption Job: Pay for the software subscription.

Quote: "And don't get me started on their subscription fee, which just went up again last quarter."
Consumption Job: Generate specialized financial reports from the software for an accountant.

Quote: "I have to export a bunch of reports from QuickBooks, but they're never quite right."
Consumption Job: Manually match bank deposits to the correct invoices within the software.

Quote: "It can pull in transactions, but I still have to manually categorize everything and match deposits to the right invoices."

Financial Outcomes

These are the economic metrics the customer is trying to optimize related to the cost and financial impact of getting the job done.

Financial Outcome: Minimize the amount of non-billable time spent on financial administration.

Quote: "Every hour I spend chasing invoices is a non-billable hour. It's pure overhead."
Financial Outcome: Minimize the percentage of revenue lost to payment processing and bank transfer fees.

Quote: "And if a client wants to pay by credit card... that’s $300 that just vanishes. It's a significant chunk of my profit..."
Financial Outcome: Minimize the risk of incurring financial penalties for incorrect tax filings.

Quote: "If I mess it up and underpay my taxes, the penalties can be really steep."

Related Jobs

These are separate functional jobs the customer is trying to get done before, during, or after the core job of obtaining payment.

Related Job: Create project proposals for prospective clients.

Quote: "I have a template, but I spend hours customizing it, trying to get the scope description just right so there are no surprises later."
Related Job: Track billable hours for client projects.

Quote: "For my hourly projects... I track my hours in a dedicated spreadsheet."
Related Job: Prepare financial records for tax filing.

Quote: "I n January, my accountant sends me this long list of things he needs. I probably spend two full weekends just gathering, organizing, and sending documents to him."