WORKING PAPER

Quantifying Feelings

By Steve Wunker and Andrew Troska

Quantifying Feelings helps innovators make emotion a source of competitive advantage by:

Turning vague emotional drivers into clearly defined Jobs that reveal why customers choose one product or brand over another

Applying structured survey techniques to quantify emotional priorities and their relationship to functional goals

Using contextual framing and hierarchy mapping to translate feelings into design, messaging, and innovation choices that resonate

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Summary

Quantifying Feelings by Stephen Wunker and Andrew Troska bridges the gap between emotional insight and quantitative rigor. The paper introduces a structured approach to measure emotional Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)—the motivations that drive customer behavior beyond functional needs. Using examples like the Mini Cooper, it explains how emotions like “feeling unique” can be reframed as actionable design inputs. The guide outlines practical principles for survey design—prioritizing quality over quantity, controlling for context, and pairing qualitative discovery with quantitative validation—to make emotional jobs measurable, comparable, and strategically useful.

OVERVIEW

Why Quantifying Emotional Jobs Matters

In most markets, emotional motivations drive behavior more than functional benefits. People don’t just buy a product — they buy how it makes them feel. Yet many companies treat emotions as intangible or unmeasurable. Quantifying Feelings argues that emotions can be systematically studied and quantified to reveal what truly drives decisions. Emotional jobs — the stable, recurring motivations behind purchases — give organizations a way to link feeling and behavior, replacing guesswork with data-backed insight into loyalty, satisfaction, and growth.

By quantifying emotional jobs, organizations can:

Reveal the hidden emotional logic behind decisions
Identify which feelings most influence buying choices
Translate emotion into measurable business drivers
Design offerings that create both emotional and functional value

Figuring Out Emotions

Quantifying Emotional Jobs

Putting It Together

Figuring Out Emotions

The paper illustrates how emotions can define entire categories — as with Mini Cooper, where customers bought not a car but an identity. People choose products that help them express or reinforce how they want to feel. The challenge is converting vague emotions into structured “emotional jobs,” such as “feeling distinctive” or “feeling in control.” Using the Jobs to Be Done framework, emotions can be reframed as actionable design goals, enabling innovation rooted in human motivation rather than abstract sentiment.

By identifying and structuring emotional jobs, teams can:

Turn fuzzy feelings into clear, actionable insights
Understand the contexts that trigger emotional priorities
Align brand and product design with emotional outcomes
Capture deeper motivations that conventional data misses

Figuring Out Emotions

Quantifying Emotional Jobs

Putting It Together

Figuring Out Emotions

By identifying and structuring emotional jobs, teams can:

Turn fuzzy feelings into clear, actionable insights
Understand the contexts that trigger emotional priorities
Align brand and product design with emotional outcomes
Capture deeper motivations that conventional data misses

Figuring Out Emotions

Quantifying Emotional Jobs

Figuring Out Emotions

By identifying and structuring emotional jobs, teams can:

Turn fuzzy feelings into clear, actionable insights
Understand the contexts that trigger emotional priorities
Align brand and product design with emotional outcomes
Capture deeper motivations that conventional data misses

Figuring Out Emotions

Quantifying Emotional Jobs

Putting It Together

Figuring Out Emotions

By identifying and structuring emotional jobs, teams can:

Turn fuzzy feelings into clear, actionable insights
Understand the contexts that trigger emotional priorities
Align brand and product design with emotional outcomes
Capture deeper motivations that conventional data misses

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About The Authors

Steve Wunker

FOUNDER & GLOBAL LEADER IN JOBS TO BE DONE

Steve pioneered JTBD alongside Clayton Christensen and has led innovation work worldwide. He authored Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation and four other books, and his thinking appears regularly in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Financial Times.

WORKING PAPER

Quantifying Feelings

By Steve Wunker and Andrew Troska

Turning vague emotional drivers into clearly defined Jobs that reveal why customers choose one product or brand over another

Applying structured survey techniques to quantify emotional priorities and their relationship to functional goals

Using contextual framing and hierarchy mapping to translate feelings into design, messaging, and innovation choices that resonate

Download File