Product Thinking Framework

Combines two complementary frameworks:

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD): Understand what progress customers seek
Minto Pyramid: Communicate product thinking clearly and persuasively

When to Use

Trigger	Mode
"Help me think through this product idea"	Interactive Q&A
"Evaluate this feature concept"	Interactive Q&A
"Write a PRD/brief/one-pager"	Document Output
"Structure my product thinking"	Either (ask user)
"Interview me about my product"	Interactive Q&A

Core Workflow

Step 1: Establish Mode

Ask: "Would you like me to guide you through discovery questions, or produce a structured document?"

Interactive Q&A: Walk through JTBD discovery → synthesize → structure via Minto
Document Output: Gather inputs → produce pyramid-structured artifact

Step 2: JTBD Discovery

The goal is to uncover the job the customer is hiring the product to do.

The Job Statement Formula:

When [circumstance], I want to [progress/outcome], so I can [higher purpose].

Core Questions (ask 2-3 at a time, not all at once):

Struggling Moment: "What's the specific moment when someone realizes they need this?"
Current Workarounds: "What are people cobbling together today to make progress?"
Functional Job: "What task are they literally trying to accomplish?"
Emotional Job: "How do they want to feel during/after?"
Social Job: "How do they want to be perceived by others?"
Hiring Criteria: "What would make them 'fire' their current solution and 'hire' yours?"
Anxieties: "What fears would prevent them from switching?"
Circumstances: "When/where does this job arise? What's the context?"

See references/jtbd-framework.md for deeper guidance on JTBD theory.

Step 3: Synthesize the Job

After discovery, articulate:

JOB STATEMENT
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
When: [specific circumstance/trigger]
I want to: [desired progress]
So I can: [ultimate outcome/feeling]

FORCES OF PROGRESS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Push (pain of current): [what's broken]
Pull (appeal of new): [what's attractive]
Anxiety (fear of new): [what holds them back]
Habit (comfort of current): [what keeps them stuck]

Step 4: Structure via Minto Pyramid

Organize all thinking top-down:

           ┌─────────────────┐
           │   ANSWER FIRST  │  ← Lead with the conclusion
           │   (So What?)    │
           └────────┬────────┘
                    │
     ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
     │              │              │
┌────▼────┐   ┌────▼────┐   ┌────▼────┐
│ Key     │   │ Key     │   │ Key     │  ← 3-5 supporting arguments
│ Point 1 │   │ Point 2 │   │ Point 3 │
└────┬────┘   └────┬────┘   └────┬────┘
     │             │             │
  Evidence      Evidence      Evidence  ← Data, examples, research

SCQA Framework for framing the narrative:

Situation: Stable context everyone agrees on
Complication: What changed or went wrong
Question: The question this raises (implicit)
Answer: Your recommendation/insight

See references/minto-pyramid.md for communication patterns.

Document Output Templates

Product Brief (1-pager)

# [Product/Feature Name]

## Recommendation
[One sentence: what to build and why it matters]

## The Job to Be Done
When [circumstance], [user] wants to [progress], so they can [outcome].

## Why Now
- [Complication 1]: [evidence]
- [Complication 2]: [evidence]

## Solution Approach
1. [Key capability] → addresses [job dimension]
2. [Key capability] → addresses [job dimension]
3. [Key capability] → addresses [job dimension]

## Success Metrics
- [Leading indicator]: [target]
- [Lagging indicator]: [target]

## Key Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| [Anxiety/obstacle] | [How addressed] |

Idea Evaluation Scorecard

# Evaluation: [Idea Name]

## JTBD Fit (1-5): __
- [ ] Clear struggling moment identified
- [ ] Job is recurring, not one-time
- [ ] Emotional/social dimensions understood
- [ ] Current alternatives are inadequate

## Market Forces (1-5): __
- [ ] Push from current pain is strong
- [ ] Pull toward solution is compelling
- [ ] Anxieties can be addressed
- [ ] Habits can be overcome

## Strategic Fit (1-5): __
- [ ] Aligns with company capabilities
- [ ] Defensible differentiation exists
- [ ] Viable business model apparent

## Verdict
[PURSUE / ITERATE / PASS]

## Reasoning (Pyramid Structure)
[Answer]: [One sentence verdict with "because..."]
- [Supporting point 1]
- [Supporting point 2]
- [Supporting point 3]

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	Better Approach
Feature-first thinking	"Build X" without job context	Start with struggling moment
Demographic segmentation	"Millennials want..."	Segment by job, not persona
Solution validation	"Do you like this?"	"Tell me about last time you..."
Bottom-up docs	Burying the lead	Answer first, then support
Correlation as causation	"Users who do X also Y"	Understand the why behind behavior

Interactive Session Flow

When in Q&A mode, follow this arc:

Open: "Tell me about the problem you're trying to solve"
Struggling Moment: "Walk me through a specific moment when this became painful"
Current State: "What are people doing today to cope?"
Dimensions: Probe functional, emotional, social jobs
Forces: Map push, pull, anxiety, habit
Synthesize: Reflect back the job statement for validation
Structure: Organize insights into pyramid for next steps

Limit to 2-3 questions per turn. Reflect understanding before probing deeper.

References

references/jtbd-framework.md - Deep dive on Jobs-to-be-Done theory
references/minto-pyramid.md - Detailed Minto communication patterns
references/interview-guide.md - Full discovery interview script

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