Office workers hire word-processing software to create documents. We all know that people “hire” products to get jobs done. By mapping out every step of the job and locating those opportunities, companies can discover new ways to differentiate their offerings. Within each of the discrete steps lie multiple opportunities for making the job simpler, easier, or faster. Detecting a change in patient vital signs is the job the doctor is trying to get done. For example, when an anesthesiologist checks a monitor during a surgical procedure, the action taken is just a means to the end. Job mapping differs substantively from process mapping in that the goal is to identify what customers are trying to get done at every step, not what they are doing currently. It involves breaking down the task the customer wants to accomplish into the eight universal steps of a job: (1) defining the objectives, (2) locating the necessary inputs, (3) preparing the physical environment, (4) confirming that everything is ready, (5) executing the task, (6) monitoring its progress, (7) making modifications as necessary, and (8) concluding the job. To find ways to innovate, it’s critical to deconstruct the job the customer is trying to get done from beginning to end, to gain a complete view of all the points at which a customer might desire more help from a product or service.Ī methodology called job mapping helps companies analyze the biggest drawbacks of the products and services customers currently use and discover opportunities for innovation.

Janitors hire soap dispensers and paper towels to remove grime from their hands.

Surgeons hire scalpels to dissect soft tissue.

We all know that people “hire” products and services to get a job done.

Def jam careers