“Jobs to be done (JTBD) is similar… JTBD gives you a clear starting point: the core job people are trying to accomplish.”
Jobs To Be Done grew out of market innovation; the Core Model grew out of information architecture. Both are inside-out frameworks — they insist you understand what people are actually trying to accomplish before you decide what to build, write or design.
They combine naturally. JTBD gives you a sharp language for user tasks: “When [situation], I want to [motivation], so that [expected outcome].” Drop that syntax straight into the user-task element of the core sheet, and your cores inherit the rigour of JTBD while keeping the Core Model's link to business objectives, inward paths and forward paths.
In practice, teams use one of three approaches: run JTBD research first and feed the jobs into a core workshop; run a standard core workshop with a JTBD lens on the user-task element; or run a hybrid workshop where jobs and cores are mapped side by side.
In May 2025, Jim Kalbach and Are Halland explored this combination in a joint live session — which also premiered the official Core Model template for Mural. You can find that template on the resources page.