BoardSnap is an iOS app that reads a jobs-to-be-done whiteboard — job statements, contexts, outcomes, and hiring criteria — and produces a structured JTBD summary in one snap.
The Jobs to Be Done framework forces product teams to ask a harder question than 'what features do customers want?' It asks: what job is the customer hiring your product to do, and what are they firing when they hire you? The answers are almost always surprising. The functional job (transfer files quickly) is rarely the real driver. The emotional job (avoid looking disorganized to my manager) or the social job (signal that I'm a sophisticated professional who uses the right tools) often explains the actual purchase decision.
Capturing a JTBD session is difficult because the insights are non-obvious. A customer doesn't say 'I hired your app to make me look competent.' They say 'I needed a faster way to send large files.' Getting from the stated need to the real job requires facilitation, probing, and synthesis — all of which happen in a workshop that's usually held around a whiteboard.
The workshop output is the hardest thing to document. Job statements need to be written in a specific format: 'When [context], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome].' Getting that format right from memory, after the session, is nearly impossible. Getting it right in real time, on the board, with the group watching, is very possible.
Start with 'When...' — the specific context in which the customer experiences the need. 'When I finish a whiteboard meeting' or 'When I'm presenting to a new client.' Context is what makes a job statement specific and testable.
Continue with '...I want to...' — the customer's motivation in that context. This is the functional job: 'have a written record of the key decisions' or 'look like I prepared well.' Write the full job statement in one sentence on the board.
Complete the statement: '...so I can...' — the outcome the customer is seeking. 'So I can follow up on action items without a second meeting' or 'So I can build credibility with the client.' The outcome is what they're actually measuring success against.
For each main job, identify whether it has emotional and social sub-jobs. Draw three columns: Functional / Emotional / Social. Map the sub-jobs. The functional job is the core task. The emotional job is how it makes them feel. The social job is how it makes them look.
What made the customer hire a solution for this job before? What would make them fire their current solution and hire yours? Write hiring criteria (what they're looking for) and firing triggers (what breaks the current solution for them). These are the product's most important requirements.
Circle the jobs that are currently underserved — high importance to the customer, low satisfaction with current solutions. Underserved jobs are opportunities. Overserved jobs (low importance, high satisfaction) are where competitors are over-investing.
Open BoardSnap. Job statements in full sentence form, three-column job type breakdown, hiring/firing criteria, and underserved circle markers. BoardSnap AI reads the job statement format and the column structure.
A structured JTBD summary with: full job statements in 'When / I want to / So I can' format, functional/emotional/social job mapping, hiring and firing criteria as separate lists, and underserved jobs flagged as primary opportunities. The output is a direct input to product strategy and feature prioritization.
The founders ran JTBD interviews with 15 customers and synthesized findings on a whiteboard. Seven distinct jobs emerged. Three were underserved — circled on the board. BoardSnap produced the job statements in the correct format. The v1 product focused on the top two underserved jobs and nothing else.
The PM ran a JTBD session with a key account to understand how they were using the product beyond its intended use. The session revealed two jobs the product was being hired to do that the team hadn't designed for. BoardSnap captured the discoveries. Both became product initiatives in the next quarter.
For best output quality, yes. The structured sentence format is what BoardSnap reads as a JTBD job statement. Abbreviated notes ('faster file sharing') are read as features or pain points, not job statements. The format matters because it captures context and motivation, not just the task.
Five to eight main jobs is a productive JTBD session. More than ten gets unwieldy. For complex products with many user types, run separate sessions per persona and store them in the same BoardSnap project.
BoardSnap reads importance and satisfaction scores if you write them next to each job (e.g., 'Importance: 9/10, Satisfaction: 4/10'). The AI chat can then tell you which jobs score highest on importance and lowest on satisfaction — the underserved opportunity set.
Snap the board, ship the action items in ten seconds.