“Would You Use This?” - “Yes, I think so.” - Flip the script with Jobs to be done User Interviews

Yetvart Artinyan
Aug 5
4 min read

Innovation Health — Photo by UX Indonesia on Unsplash

In the early stages of product development, founders and innovation teams are often told to “go talk to customers.” The advice is well-meaning. The execution? Frequently broken.

What follows are interviews laced with polite affirmations, abstract hopes, and an illusion of validation. Founders leave excited. They’ve “confirmed” their idea. But what they’ve really collected are false positives — nice words from nice people who don’t want to hurt their feelings.

“Would you use this?”

“Would you pay for this?”

“Does this sound useful?”

These questions feel like they de-risk the venture. They don’t. They invite people to imagine hypothetical futures — not describe their real lives.

And the answers?

A polite nod. A half-smile. A lukewarm “Yeah, I think so.”

It’s not discovery. It’s theatre.

False Certainty Is More Dangerous Than No Certainty

Innovation dies not because people don’t ask questions — but because they ask the wrong ones.

The core problem is methodological: predictive questions assume that intent equals action. But as any behavioral scientist or marketer knows, what people say they will do has almost no correlation to what they actually do.

People aren’t lying. They’re just guessing. And in guessing, they aim to be agreeable, aspirational, or simply helpful. That’s human nature — and it’s a trap for innovators.

“A customer’s politeness is the most expensive lie you can afford.” — Yetvart Artinyan

From Solution-First to Problem-Led

The fix isn’t just better questions. It’s a different posture entirely.

Most discovery begins with a solution looking for applause. Instead, you should start with a struggle looking for resolution.

This is where Jobs to be Done (JTBD) and Jobs to be Done User Interviews provides a clearer lens. It flips the script:

People don’t buy products.They hire them to make progress in a specific situation.

This shift is subtle but profound. It stops us from asking, “Do you like this?” and starts us asking, “What are you trying to get done — and what’s in your way?”

Let’s look at the contrast in real life:

A parent doesn’t just want a “baby monitor with AI.” They want to sleep without guilt — knowing their newborn is safe, especially after a scare last week.
A sales rep isn’t shopping for “deal analytics.” They want to walk into Monday’s pipeline review with confidence that they aren’t blindsided or behind.

These aren’t product features. They’re emotional missions wrapped in functional jobs.

You’ll never get these answers with:

“Would you use this feature?”

But you will get there by asking:

“What made you anxious last week?”

“When was the last time something slipped through the cracks?”

Don’t Validate Ideas. Surface Struggles.

Let’s reframe validation altogether. You’re not looking for yeses. You’re looking for struggles — because struggles create demand.

The most useful evidence lies in what people already tried to do, not what they claim they might try someday.

To operationalize this shift, we must redesign our discovery questions.

The following table contrasts ten commonly used — but misleading — validation questions with stronger alternatives rooted in behavioural evidence and JTBD principles:

Alternative User Discovery Jobs to be Done Questions — Weak Discovery / Stronger Alternative

Notice the pattern? Past tense, real actions, and emotional tone.

Sound Like a Researcher, Not a Pitch Deck with Jobs to be Done User Interviews

Strong discovery sounds like curiosity, not a pitch. It isn’t about proving your idea — it’s about disproving your assumptions quickly, cheaply, and clearly.

Here’s what that sounds like in practice:

“Walk me through the last time this happened.”
“What were you hoping would be different?”
“How did you try to fix it?”
“What would success have looked like in that moment?”

These questions unlock motivations, constraints, and context — the raw material of meaningful innovation.

Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, enterprise or startup, the same principle holds: if you can map what people are already trying to get done, you can build what they’re already looking for.

A Checklist for Better Discovery

To audit your own discovery, run your questions through this quick checklist:

✅ Does it ask about real events, not imagined futures?

✅ Does it explore struggles, not just preferences?

✅ Does it unpack emotional friction, not just functionality?

✅ Does it reveal failed attempts or workarounds?

✅ Does it embed the context of the moment, not abstract opinions?

If you can answer yes to these, you’re on the right path. You’re collecting evidence, not just encouragement.

The Jobs Insights Canvas

To help you structure everything above into a repeatable workflow, I’ve created the Jobs Insights Canvas — a powerful, printable tool to level up your discovery process.

Use it to: