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DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — JOBS TO BE DONE INTERVIEW GUIDE
JTBD force map | Difficulty: High
discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/jtbd-interview-sprint-lightweight
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WHO TO INTERVIEW
  Target: Recent switchers, first-time adopters, or churned users.
  NOT: Current satisfied customers only. NOT: Internal proxies.
  Recruit criteria: ______________________________________
  Number of interviews planned: __________________________

  ⚠ Interview real decision-makers, not only proxies.
    JTBD is about the causal story — who actually made the choice.

─ INTERVIEW SETUP ──────────────────────────────────────────────
  Participant: ___________________________________________
  Interview #: ___ | Date: ___________  Interviewer: _____
  Context: [Switcher / New adopter / Churned / Non-adopter]
  Recording consent: Y / N

─ INTRODUCTION  [~3 min] ───────────────────────────────────────
  "I'm not trying to sell you anything or defend our product.
  I want to understand the story of how you came to [make
  this decision / change behavior / stop using X]. Walk me
  through it from your perspective."

─ TIMELINE + TRIGGER  [~10 min] ────────────────────────────────
  Q: Take me back to when you first started thinking about
     [the change / decision]. What was going on at that time?

  ↳ Probe: Was there a specific moment or event that triggered it?
  ↳ Probe: How long had you been thinking about it before that?
  ↳ Probe: What was happening in your [work / life] at that point?

  Notes:
  _________________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

─ THE PUSH — What made the old situation unsatisfactory?  [~10 min]
  Q: What wasn't working before you made the change?

  ↳ Probe: How long had that been a problem?
  ↳ Probe: Was there a final straw?
  ↳ Probe: What had you tried before?

  Push themes captured:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

─ THE PULL — What made the new option attractive?  [~10 min]
  Q: What made [the new solution / change] seem like it might work?

  ↳ Probe: Where did you first hear about it?
  ↳ Probe: What did you imagine your life / work looking like after?
  ↳ Probe: What were you hoping it would do for you?

  Pull themes captured:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

─ THE ANXIETY — What almost stopped you?  [~10 min] ────────────
  Q: What were you nervous or unsure about when you decided?

  ↳ Probe: Was there a moment you nearly didn't go through with it?
  ↳ Probe: What would have made you more confident?
  ↳ Probe: What did you need to see or hear to trust it?

  Anxiety themes captured:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

─ THE HABIT — What made it hard to change?  [~5 min] ───────────
  Q: What were you giving up or leaving behind?

  ↳ Probe: Were there people in your life affected by the change?
  ↳ Probe: What was comfortable about the old way?

  Habit themes captured:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________

─ POST-DECISION  [~5 min] ──────────────────────────────────────
  Q: Looking back, did it turn out the way you expected?

  ↳ Probe: What was different from what you anticipated?
  ↳ Probe: Would you make the same decision again?

  Notes:
  _________________________________________________________

─ SYNTHESIS — complete after all interviews ─────────────────────

  FORCE MAP (aggregate themes across all interviews):

  PUSH (frustrations with old situation):
  1. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  2. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  3. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___

  PULL (attractions of new situation):
  1. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  2. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  3. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___

  ANXIETY (fears before switching):
  1. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  2. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___

  HABIT (inertia keeping them in old situation):
  1. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___
  2. _________________________________ | Frequency: ___/___

  Top opportunity hypotheses:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
QUALITY CHECK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ☐ Interviewed real decision-makers, not proxies
  ☐ Asked about timeline and triggers (not just opinions)
  ☐ Synthesis based on patterns across interviews, not one story
  ☐ Opportunity hypotheses tie to a specific force

Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/jtbd-interview-sprint-lightweight
Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com