Agent skill

Thinking Jobs To Be Done

by tjboudreaux in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills

Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. An agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.

MITAuto-check passedProduct & Project Management

Install Thinking Jobs To Be Done

skills CLI
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-jobs-to-be-done -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-jobs-to-be-done --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done .claude/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
thinking-jobs-to-be-done
GitHub stars
1.6k
Token cost
~940 tokens
SKILL.md length
441 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
26
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. An agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.

  • Works in 7 steps: Name performers and circumstance. Who… → State the job, not the solution. Frame:… → Map forces and switch. From artifacts:… → …
  • Tasks that involve User stories
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, When NOT to Use, Procedure and Output, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Thinking Jobs To Be Done is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. Recover the progress users hire a solution for under a circumstance, then rank by outcome and competing workarounds.

Its SKILL.md is about 940 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Product & Project Management, covering User stories. The repository describes itself as: 28 eval-informed mental models and critical-thinking skills for Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor, and other Agent Skills-compatible tools. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve User stories

Example prompts

  • “/thinking-jobs-to-be-done”

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Name performers and circumstance. Who hires a solution, in what trigger situation, how often, and with what stakes. Prefer primary…
  2. State the job, not the solution. Frame: When [circumstance], I want to [progress], so I can [outcome]. Reject solution-shaped statements…
  3. Map forces and switch. From artifacts: what push made the old way fail, what pull the new progress offers, what anxiety blocks switching…
  4. Define done and outcome metrics. How the performer knows the job is finished. List outcomes to minimize and maximize (time-to-progress…
  5. Score candidates against the job. For each feature/priority: which job step it serves, performer share, frequency, quality of…
  6. Strongest countercase. State the best case that the stated job is wrong (wrong performer, vanity metric, process-is-the-job, competition…
  7. Stop. Stop when one primary job statement, competing set, and outcome metrics are evidence-backed enough to change a build/position…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7b8fece. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Thinking Jobs To Be Done loads about 940 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 47 tokens; SKILL.md has 441 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~47
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~940

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills at commit 7b8fece, republished under its MIT licence (© tjboudreaux). 441 words, ~940 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
thinking-jobs-to-be-done
description
Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. Recover the progress users hire a solution for under a circumstance, then rank by outcome and competing workarounds.
disable-model-invocation
true

Jobs to Be Done

Core rule: users hire solutions for progress in a situation. Prioritize the job, forces, outcome, and competing workaround—not the feature list.

When to Use

  • Choosing what to build, cut, or prioritize when user need is unclear
  • Explaining low adoption of a shipped feature
  • Mapping competition beyond same-category products (email, spreadsheets, manual work, non-consumption)
  • Positioning or research when the progress sought is contested

Requires at least one evidence source: PRD/spec, tickets, support/sales notes, analytics/logs, or current product behavior. If none exist, name the research gap; do not invent quotes.

When NOT to Use

  • Pure execution once the job is known (bug fix, schema, CI, performance)—implement, do not rediscover the job
  • Retro-justifying a decision already locked—framework theater
  • Infrastructure/internal work with no end-user progress decision
  • When the open question is only how to implement a settled job

Procedure

  1. Name performers and circumstance. Who hires a solution, in what trigger situation, how often, and with what stakes. Prefer primary performers with daily high-stakes jobs over rare secondary ones.
  2. State the job, not the solution. Frame: When [circumstance], I want to [progress], so I can [outcome]. Reject solution-shaped statements ("use Slack", "add a dashboard"). Capture functional, emotional, and social dimensions only if evidence supports them.
  3. Map forces and switch. From artifacts: what push made the old way fail, what pull the new progress offers, what anxiety blocks switching, what habit keeps the status quo. List what they hire today—including non-software and non-consumption.
  4. Define done and outcome metrics. How the performer knows the job is finished. List outcomes to minimize and maximize (time-to-progress, rework, confidence, surprises). Prefer frequent, poorly served jobs over rare, adequately worked-around ones.
  5. Score candidates against the job. For each feature/priority: which job step it serves, performer share, frequency, quality of alternatives. Promote high-frequency underserved dimensions; demote polished work for well-served or low-stakes jobs.
  6. Strongest countercase. State the best case that the stated job is wrong (wrong performer, vanity metric, process-is-the-job, competition is actually non-consumption). If the countercase fits evidence better, revise the job before recommending build.
  7. Stop. Stop when one primary job statement, competing set, and outcome metrics are evidence-backed enough to change a build/position decision—or when artifacts cannot answer and research is the only next step.
Show full SKILL.md (65 more words)Show less

Output

Produce a JTBD decision artifact:

text
Job statement: When …, I want to …, so I can …
Performers: primary / secondary (frequency, stakes)
Forces: push / pull / anxiety / habit
Competition: direct | indirect | non-consumption
Outcomes: minimize […] ; maximize […]
Priority implication: build / cut / reposition — because job gap is …
Countercase checked: …
Evidence used / gaps: …

Verification

  • Falsify: If replacing the job statement with a feature name does not change the recommendation, you never left solution-space—rewrite the job from circumstance and progress.
  • Stop: Do not keep mapping job steps once the ranking decision is stable.
  • Over-application guard: Skip on pure implementation tasks and known jobs. Never fabricate user quotes or personas to fill missing evidence.

© tjboudreaux, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done of tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7b8fece

Compare with similar skills

Thinking Jobs To Be Done next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Thinking Jobs To Be Done compared with similar skills
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Agile Product Owneralirezarezvani/claude-skills28k3 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ralph Tui Create Beads Rustsubsy/ralph-tui2.5k1 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
To Specbestofjs/bestofjs3.1k21 repos~757Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Thinking Jobs To Be Done

What does Thinking Jobs To Be Done do?

Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. An agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Thinking Jobs To Be Done is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Deciding what to build or why adoption fails.

When should I use Thinking Jobs To Be Done?

Thinking Jobs To Be Done fits situations like: tasks that involve User stories.

How do I install Thinking Jobs To Be Done in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-jobs-to-be-done -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .claude/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Thinking Jobs To Be Done in Codex?

Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-jobs-to-be-done -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .agents/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Thinking Jobs To Be Done in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-jobs-to-be-done -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done, .gemini/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done, .github/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done and .opencode/skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done in your project.

What does Thinking Jobs To Be Done need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Thinking Jobs To Be Done is instructions for the agent only.

Does Thinking Jobs To Be Done access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Thinking Jobs To Be Done safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Thinking Jobs To Be Done use?

Thinking Jobs To Be Done is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Thinking Jobs To Be Done use?

About 940 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Thinking Jobs To Be Done?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Thinking Jobs To Be Done: User Story Writer (deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, 7.2k stars), Ralph Tui Create Beads (subsy/ralph-tui, 2.5k stars), Agile Product Owner (alirezarezvani/claude-skills, 28k stars) and Ralph Tui Create Beads Rust (subsy/ralph-tui, 2.5k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Thinking Jobs To Be Done?

tjboudreaux (a GitHub user) maintains it in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills, which has 1,613 GitHub stars. The repository holds 26 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 7, 2026.

Source: tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.