Part 1
JTBD
Customers aren’t choosing between vendors so much as deciding whether changing is worth abandoning the workflow they’ve learned to tolerate. This part starts with that status quo and the specific moment that triggers a search, then covers the job beneath a prompt, the job spec an agent can work from, and why habit and switching anxiety keep people where they are. It closes with requirements that define relief, a path from interview quote to product decision, and validation in ordinary situations.
Tools in this part
- Four forces · Fill-in table
Chapter 1 · The Status Quo Is the Real Competitor
- A project tracker nobody wants to give up · Example
Chapter 1 · The Status Quo Is the Real Competitor
- Map the workflow people actually tolerate · Fill-in table
Chapter 1 · The Status Quo Is the Real Competitor
- A practical status-quo audit · Use it checklist
Chapter 1 · The Status Quo Is the Real Competitor
- Trigger scene · Fill-in card
Chapter 2 · The Trigger Is a Scene, Not a Segment
- Trigger scene: the quarterly review · Example
Chapter 2 · The Trigger Is a Scene, Not a Segment
- How to research the scene · Sequence map
Chapter 2 · The Trigger Is a Scene, Not a Segment
- A trigger test · Use it checklist
Chapter 2 · The Trigger Is a Scene, Not a Segment
- A job-context card · Fill-in card
Chapter 3 · The Job Beneath the Prompt
- A job-context card for “Write a response” · Example
Chapter 3 · The Job Beneath the Prompt
- The test · Use it checklist
Chapter 3 · The Job Beneath the Prompt
- The eight parts of an agent job spec · Fill-in card
Chapter 4 · How to Write a Job Spec for an AI Agent
- Conditional behavior · Fill-in table
Chapter 4 · How to Write a Job Spec for an AI Agent
- The renewal job, specified · Example
Chapter 4 · How to Write a Job Spec for an AI Agent
- A review checklist · Use it checklist
Chapter 4 · How to Write a Job Spec for an AI Agent
- Backward forces · Fill-in table
Chapter 5 · Why People Stay When the Pain Is Obvious
- What the old way does well · Fill-in table
Chapter 5 · Why People Stay When the Pain Is Obvious
- A backward-forces audit for a team’s brittle spreadsheet · Example
Chapter 5 · Why People Stay When the Pain Is Obvious
- A backward-forces audit · Use it checklist
Chapter 5 · Why People Stay When the Pain Is Obvious
- Relief requirement · Fill-in card
Chapter 6 · What Relief Looks Like Is a Requirement
- A renewal brief, rewritten as relief · Example
Chapter 6 · What Relief Looks Like Is a Requirement
- Put relief into the brief · Use it checklist
Chapter 6 · What Relief Looks Like Is a Requirement
- Follow the chain · Sequence map
Chapter 7 · From Interview Quote to Product Decision
- Follow the chain: a weekly risk review · Example
Chapter 7 · From Interview Quote to Product Decision
- Decision ledger · Fill-in table
Chapter 7 · From Interview Quote to Product Decision
- The handoff test · Use it checklist
Chapter 7 · From Interview Quote to Product Decision
- Ordinary-day prototype · Fill-in card
Chapter 8 · Ordinary-Day Truth
- The day-to-day scene, as a prototype · Example
Chapter 8 · Ordinary-Day Truth
- An ordinary-day test plan · Use it checklist
Chapter 8 · Ordinary-Day Truth
Next part
Not sure what job your product is hired for?
Start with the checklist to spot what needs attention.
Run the self-checkBook a 30-minute call. Bring one workflow your customers won’t leave and we’ll look at the trigger and the job beneath it.
Book a call