What is Kano Model

The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano.

Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation.
It is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals.”

Customer satisfaction and User Experience

Customer satisfaction comes from a Product or service.

User Experience comes from overall journey related to a product/service, like buying product, using product, maintenance services etc.

Kano’s model in detail

The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction which classifies customer preferences into five categories.

1. Must-be Quality  (Basic needs, Dissatisfies)

 These attributes are taken for granted when fulfilled but result in dissatisfaction when not fulfilled. 

2. One-dimensional Quality (Performance, satisfiers) 

These attributes result in satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when not fulfilled.

3. Attractive Quality (Delighters or Excitement Needs)

 These attributes provide satisfaction when achieved fully, but do not cause dissatisfaction when not fulfilled.

4. Indifferent Quality 

 These attributes refer to aspects that are neither good nor bad, and they do not result in either customer satisfaction or customer dissatisfaction.

5. Reverse Quality 

 These attributes refer to a high degree of achievement resulting in dissatisfaction and to the fact that not all customers are alike.

Kano Model Diagram

Kano diagram is represented below with all types of needs in single graph.

Important points

1. Time influence:  

Time has a big influence on Excitement Quality. Attributes' place on the model changes over time.

2. Categorization of needs: 

Define your users’ needs in light of the Kano model. What are the basic expectations that they simply expect to be there and where would the absence of these features lead to frustration?

3. Competitive analysis: 

Monitor your customer satisfaction and competition to ensure that features you think delight users haven’t slid into basic expectations and no longer help your customer satisfaction.

4. Innovation in Design: 

Find and focus on sustainable delighters that truly differentiate your product and continue to deliver customer satisfaction over time. 

5. Prioritizing Needs: 

It is intended to help prioritize customer needs.

6. MVP (Minimum viable product): 

A minimum viable product has just those core features that allow the product to be deployed, and no more. Generation one has to cover the “must be”.