- Solutions
- Product
- Resources
- Pricing
- •••SolutionsProduct
- Log in
- Try Fibery ⚡
- Log inTry Fibery ⚡
Wondering “What is the Kano model?” On top of that, are you considering using the Kano model in product development?
In this article, we’ll answer all the pressing questions and more. Hopefully, by the end, you’ll know exactly if the Kano model fits your product development processes and whether it would be a good addition to your day-to-day job as a product manager.
The Kano model is a product development analysis tool that helps you understand customer preferences and the perceived value of your product’s features.
It categorizes customer preferences into five groups:
Say you’re a product manager of an absence management app, trying to choose between building a Slack integration or an internal chat for the users. You don’t have the budget and time to handle both of them next quarter (and you don’t know if it makes sense at all).
The Kano model will help you prioritize features based on their potential impact on customer satisfaction and, ultimately, the return on investment in the product’s growth.
You now understand the theory – let us show you how to apply the Kano model in practice:
Implementing the Kano model should consist of five steps:
Here is how to tackle each one:
A crucial part of this step is gathering all the planned features in one place. This should involve not only your backlog but also places like:
This clear overview will allow you to organize the process and not miss out on any critical insights not captured in your project management software.
Once you have identified all the to-be-done features, you need to ask your customers how they feel about them in a standardized way.
The Kano model proposes a pair of questions you should include for each feature in your surveys:
Your customer should answer each pair of questions on a linear scale with five possible choices:
For example, using the Kano model to plan your absence management app, you should ask your customer two questions:
This can help you organize your customers’ opinions and evaluate them. Here’s how to do it:
Once you get both responses from the customer, you should evaluate them using the Kano Evaluation Table:
[Image]
You take the customer’s answer to your functional and dysfunctional questions and reference the table to determine the feature’s category. As detailed earlier, the category is signified by the first letter of its name:
For example, if your customers answered that they “like” being able to send absence notices via Slack and they’d “tolerate” if they didn’t have this feature, you categorize this feature as “attractive.”
You might’ve noticed another category we haven’t covered: questionable features. These features don’t belong to any categories as your customer gave conflicting answers to the questions about them.
If your customer said they’d like the Slack integration to be both present and absent from the app, you can’t draw any logical conclusions. This is when the feature becomes “questionable.”
Here, you gather each feature’s category count and compare them.
Say you plan to implement five features in your absence management app next quarter. You surveyed ten customers about them and gathered their opinions. Your data might look like this:
Attractive | Performance | Must-have | Indifferent | Reverse | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slack absence notice | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Custom messages | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Scheduled notice delivery | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
“Document opened” notification | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
Internal team chats | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
You can see that 7/10 customers described the ability to send absence notices via Slack as a “delighter.” On the other hand, you can see that 8/10 people are indifferent to the chat functionality inside your app.
This allows you to prioritize the features and organize the upcoming tasks. Here are the best prioritization practices for the Kano model:
You know how the Kano model works and how to implement it. The question is: should you do it? Here are three use cases for and against Kano:
The Kano model is relatively straightforward and can quickly provide clear guidance on prioritizing the right features to work on.
The model is repeatable, too, allowing you to conduct continuous research, spot market trends, and monitor changing expectations about your product.
For example, for your absence management app, the Slack integration may have become so widespread among your competition that it turns into a performance feature, not an attractive one. You can use this knowledge and adjust your product roadmap accordingly.
The Kano model allows you to quickly spot the Jobs to be done for your product and tell you which features communicate them best. It can help you prioritize the features that help your customers reach the “Aha! Moment” faster.
Returning to our previous example, say the survey highlighted that your users appreciate the consolidation of absence data from various departments.
Using this insight, you can rearrange the tasks in the pipeline to prioritize features that enhance data visualization. More precise and organized data may improve the user experience, leading to more positive reviews and a higher NPS score.
The Kano model informs you about your users’ sentiment towards certain features. During the MVP development, this information can help you eliminate all the features your customers can live without, clarifying the core functionality your app should have.
Say you and your team wonder if you should include the sign-up with a Google/Microsoft account in your MVP. The Kano model will quickly reveal how your users feel about this feature or its absence and remove guesswork inside the team.
We saw when Kano could be useful - now let’s check a few situations when it might not be the wisest to deploy it.
Because of how the Kano model is structured, you may find it difficult to interview your customers about a long list of features. They might feel overwhelmed having to respond to 60 questions (the functional and dysfunctional ones for each feature).
Scale down the number of features being tested to keep your Kano session focused and minimize the effort for your users.
The Kano model requires you to ask specific questions about real-life use cases of your product. If you don’t know how your customers use the product, coming up with relevant questions that give you enough information might be impossible.
Say the design team for your app asks about a made-up scenario that doesn’t reflect how your users actually use the product. This may confuse the users filling in the survey, leading to inconsistent (or entirely wrong) data.
Make sure to validate all the use scenarios with supplementary research. This will help you establish the as-is situation.
The Kano model isn’t about definitive numbers or stable research methodologies. It’s a quick, lean method for roadmap prioritization or identifying new feature opportunities that might give you an edge over the competition.
When you need more precise data about specific aspects of your product, you might consider using more accurate models, such as Conjoint Analysis, Quality Function Deployment (QFD), or the Voice of the Customer (VoC) framework.
Each model has unique advantages and can provide a more rigorous understanding of customer needs and preferences than the Kano model, which might be more suited for early-stage ideation and prioritization.
As unprecedented as it might be, we are bringing in several Fibery in-house voices for our verdict on the Kano model:
The reasoning behind the model makes sense and I think we all implicitly use it when prioritizing features. Would I use this as my primary prioritization method? Absolutely not.
Anton Iokov, Head of Product
While I like Kano model simplicity, I failed to apply it cohesively for the large product. It still frames your thoughts about users needs in a good way, but it is not enough to make decisions about priorities and feature roadmaps.
Michael Dubakov, CEO
I haven’t used this model before. I just watched people struggle with it :)
productmonkey at Fibery
Kano has the advantage over a lot of other prioritization models in that it allows for identifying features that could have a negative impact. Most other methods assume that everything you work on will be beneficial (by a lot or a little).
Chris Gibbs, Solution architect
The Kano model helps you go beyond features – it empowers you to prioritize the work on your product based on customers’ emotions, needs, and pain points.
While using the Kano model, keep in mind that this model gives you immediate insights into your users’ sentiment towards specific features. Treat it as a vital signal that informs your strategy, but don’t rely on it in every aspect of your product development.
If you want to start using Kano immediately, check out Fibery’s guide for interviewing and surveying users with the Kano model. And, if you already have completed the first surveys and need a place to organize the work, sign up for a free Fibery trial and use our integrated Kano classification features.
Uncover the power of priority bubble diagrams in this comprehensive guide that delves into their creation, components, and benefits for effective decision-making. Whether you're managing projects, developing software, or making strategic decisions, this guide equips you with the knowledge to leverage priority bubble diagrams for streamlined data organization and enhanced prioritization.
Unlock the power of prioritization matrices – essential tools for individuals and teams. Learn key concepts, explore components, and grasp practical examples, such as the Eisenhower Matrix and Value vs. Complexity Matrix. Whether in product management or software development, gain the skills to make informed choices and achieve success.
Explore the essence of agile success through product backlogs in software development. Uncover the significance, components like user stories and prioritization, and best practices for creation and maintenance. Debunk common myths and enhance your project management prowess with the dynamic power of product backlogs.
Gain mastery over the decision-making process by exploring the intricacies of the weighted scoring model. This comprehensive guide covers everything from its definition and purpose to implementation steps, benefits, and practical tips for success, offering a roadmap for organizations seeking structured and objective decision-making.