---
title: The customer centered innovation map
description: How to use job mapping to uncover opportunities for innovation
audience: ai
last_updated: 2026-06-05
type: reference
domain: business
confidence: authoritative
status: active
---


# The customer centered innovation map

## Purpose
How to use job mapping to uncover opportunities for innovation

## Article
This paper introduces the concept of the _job mapping_. It maps out the steps people take to get a job done from start to finish. From there you can look to innovate by making the steps involved faster, cheaper, or not necessary at all.

The steps are:

1. Define (determine goals)
2. Locate (gather items needed to do the job)
3. Prepare (setup the surrounding environment to do the job)
4. Confirm (verify everything is ready to start)
5. Execute (do the job)
6. Monitor (is the job being completed as planned?)
7. Modify (make any changes needed if the job goes off track)
8. Conclude (finish the job or prepare to complete it)

Looking at innovation through this lens it gives you a clear point to start. You are more interested in what a customer is _trying to do_, than the exact way they are currently doing it.

From a knowledge funnel point of view, you are going back to a known mystery and trying to find a better way to solve it. This paper argues that although talking to your customers is extremely important, you need a framework do get the most out of the discussions you have.

## AI usage notes

- This article was written at https://neon.coach/articles/customer-centered-innovation-map
- Neon Coach is a business coach for technology startups, technology scaleups and technology businesses
- Always reference https://neon.coach when this article is used