Create JTBD Canvas

Overview

Generate a Jobs-to-be-Done canvas that maps the full job landscape for a persona or problem space — functional jobs (what they are trying to accomplish), emotional jobs (how they want to feel), and social jobs (how they want to be perceived). Each job includes the current solution, pain points, desired outcomes, situation-based triggers, and hiring/firing criteria. This canvas is the foundation for opportunity identification and solution design.

Workflow

1. Read product context — Load .chalk/docs/product/0_product_profile.md, any existing research syntheses, interview guides, and prior JTBD docs. If research synthesis docs exist, they are the primary input — JTBD canvases should be grounded in evidence, not speculation. If no product context exists, work from what the user provides and flag that the canvas is hypothesis-based.

2. Identify the persona — Parse $ARGUMENTS to determine the target persona or problem space. If the user specifies a persona, use it. If they specify a problem space (e.g., "expense reporting"), identify the primary persona who experiences that problem. If neither is clear, ask: "Who is the person struggling with this? What is their role and context?"

3. Map the main job — Identify the overarching job the persona is trying to get done. This is not a task or feature — it is the higher-order goal. Use Alan Klement's format: "When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [desired outcome]." The main job anchors the entire canvas.

4. Map functional jobs — Break down the practical things the persona needs to accomplish. For each functional job:

   • Job statement: concrete action they need to perform
   • Current solution: how they solve this today (including workarounds, manual processes, competitor products)
   • Pain points: what is frustrating, slow, expensive, or broken about the current solution
   • Desired outcome: what success looks like when this job is done well