Driving Innovation in Life Sciences through the Jobs-To-Be-Done Framework

Executive Summary

A global life sciences company faced mounting pressure to innovate quickly, meet evolving patient needs, and capitalize on emerging treatment models while controlling costs. By adopting the Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework, the company identified unmet customer needs and accelerated its innovation efforts in connected health. This approach resulted in meaningful innovation, improved patient outcomes, and faster, more cost-effective market solutions.

Challenges

The company grappled with several common industry issues:

• Slow innovation cycles in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

• Disconnect between customer needs and existing solutions, especially in connected health and telehealth.

• Fragmented approaches to innovation, causing higher costs and inefficiencies.

• Competitive pressures requiring faster time-to-market and a nimble approach to introducing solutions.

To remain competitive and address evolving expectations, the company used the JTBD framework to understand the "jobs" patients, physicians, and payers were trying to complete, aligning innovation with these needs.

The Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) Framework in Action

1. Framing the Problem

The first step involved identifying unmet needs by gathering insights from key stakeholders:

• Patients: Needed tools for managing chronic conditions at home, such as remote patient monitoring (RPM) and telehealth.

• Physicians: Required solutions that integrated into workflows while improving care outcomes.

• Payers: Sought cost-effective, value-driven solutions to reduce healthcare costs.

This step allowed the company to pinpoint high-impact areas for innovation.

2. Ideation

Using both divergent thinking (brainstorming) and convergent thinking (collaboration), the company generated solutions to meet stakeholder needs.

Key insight: Patients struggled with consistent use of at-home health monitoring devices.
Solution: Developed an integrated telehealth and RPM platform, simplifying patient experiences and enabling better condition management.

3. Selection

The company evaluated ideas using these criteria:

• Customer-need fit: Addressed critical unmet needs.

• Feasibility: Developed and deployed solutions cost-effectively.

• Scalability: Ensured adaptability across markets and customer segments.

This structured selection process ensured alignment with both short- and long-term goals.

4. Making and Prototyping

Minimum viable products (MVPs) were created and tested with real users.

Example: The RPM platform for hypertension management included continuous monitoring, automated reporting, and compliance alerts, addressing critical patient and provider needs.

5. Scaling the Solution

Post-prototype feedback was integrated, enabling a successful rollout of the RPM and telehealth platform across multiple regions. Key focus areas included:

• Market-fit validation: Aligned with payer and provider workflows.

• Customer feedback integration: Maintained relevance and effectiveness through iterative improvements.

Results

By applying the JTBD framework, the company achieved remarkable results:

1. Customer-Centric Innovation: Solutions improved patient adherence and provided actionable physician data.

2. Accelerated Time-to-Market: Reduced time-to-market by 30% through agile prototyping.

3. Increased Adoption and Market Share: Addressed real jobs of stakeholders, capturing significant market share.

4. Cost-Effective Development: Reduced development costs by 25%.

5. Sustainable Growth: Positioned for long-term success with a strong innovation pipeline.

Conclusion

The Jobs-To-Be-Done framework empowered the company to align its innovation directly with customer needs. By focusing on jobs that stakeholders were trying to accomplish, the company delivered scalable, relevant solutions that improved patient outcomes, reduced costs, and ensured sustainable growth.

Call to Action: If your organization is seeking to drive meaningful innovation, consider leveraging the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework to align your efforts with customer needs and market demands.