Jobs, Gains & Pains

When to use it

Use this tool to understand the needs of your user and where there is opportunity to add value.

What’s the purpose

This template helps you to unpack what your users are trying to achieve, what makes them happy or makes their life easier, and what is standing in the way of them getting things done or causing them frustration. Knowing these things will help you ensure that your solution is adding value to their lives.

How to do it

In step one, identify which persona your value proposition canvas is focusing on.
Next, start filling in the spaces in step one using the information you have gathered during user interviews and observations, outlining the following from the user’s point of view:
- Pains: What gets in the way of getting things done and what are the sources of frustration?
- Gains: What would make life easier and exceed expectations?
- Jobs-to-be-done: What are they trying to accomplish? Consider both functional and social aspects. For example, a user might go to the gym to lose weight or take care of their health but they may also be looking for some alone time or trying to get health insurance points to redeem an award.

Helpful tips

It is useful to complete a different canvas for each persona group.
Validate your input during real user interviews.

Using this method in your day-to-day work

When trying to understand a problem that you need to solve in your day-to-day work, using this template will help you to identify what the user of the solution is really trying to accomplish, what’s getting in the way of doing that and what would make them really happy. The tool will work equally well if the user or beneficiary of the solution is you or your colleagues!

It can provide a great deal of clarity and reveal interesting insights that lead to more impactful solutions