Kano model
Tempo Team
Kano model
The Kano model is a product development and customer satisfaction framework that categorizes customer preferences into distinct types to help teams prioritize features and improvements. This model highlights how different types of features impact customer delight, satisfaction, or frustration over time.
What is the Kano model?
The Kano model is a theory developed by Professor Noriaki Kano in the 1980s to better understand customer satisfaction and its relationship to product features. It helps product managers, UX designers, and development teams assess which product attributes will have the biggest impact on user satisfaction and loyalty.
By classifying customer needs into five key categories – basic needs, performance needs, excitement needs, indifferent needs, and reverse needs – the Kano model provides strategic insights that can influence feature prioritization and product roadmaps. It’s especially helpful in agile environments where resources are limited, and understanding what matters most to users is critical.
Kano model examples
To better understand how the Kano model works in real-world scenarios, let’s break down the five feature categories with relevant examples:
1. Basic needs (must-have features)
These are features customers expect by default. If these are missing, users will be dissatisfied, but their presence doesn’t increase satisfaction – they’re just assumed.
Example: For a ride-sharing app, having GPS-enabled location tracking is a basic expectation. If it’s not functioning, users will likely abandon the service, but if it works perfectly, it won’t be a source of delight – it’s just expected.
2. Performance needs (one-dimensional features)
These features directly influence user satisfaction: the better they perform, the happier the customer. Conversely, poor performance leads to dissatisfaction.
Example: In a photo editing app, faster rendering times or higher resolution exports directly increase user satisfaction. Sluggish performance will lead to frustration.
3. Excitement needs (delighters)
These are unexpected features that surprise and delight users. Their absence doesn’t cause dissatisfaction, but their presence can create strong positive reactions.
Example: A banking app that uses AI to automatically categorize and analyze your spending patterns offers a delightful surprise that exceeds user expectations.
4. Indifferent needs
These features don’t affect user satisfaction either way. Users may not notice them or consider them irrelevant.
Example: Offering a dozen color themes in a file-sharing app might go unnoticed by the majority of users who care more about performance and security.
5. Reverse needs
These are features that, if included, could actually lead to dissatisfaction. This typically occurs when user preferences differ widely.
Example: A complex, highly customizable UI in a meditation app could overwhelm users seeking a calm, minimal experience.
These examples illustrate the power of the Kano model in helping teams determine which features will yield the greatest impact, avoid wasted development time, and improve overall user satisfaction.
How to use the Kano model in product development
To apply the Kano Model effectively, teams should conduct Kano surveys, which ask users how they’d feel if a feature were present or absent. Based on responses, features are categorized into one of the five Kano types.
This data can then be plotted on a Kano diagram, which helps visualize the relationship between feature performance and customer satisfaction. Over time, today’s excitement needs may become tomorrow’s basic needs as user expectations evolve, making regular analysis essential.
Benefits of the Kano model
Customer-centric prioritization: Helps teams focus on features that matter most to users.
Efficient resource allocation: Avoids wasting time on low-impact features.
Strategic roadmapping: Supports data-driven decisions for short- and long-term product planning.
Kano model vs. other prioritization frameworks
While models like MoSCoW or RICE focus on effort and impact, the Kano model uniquely emphasizes emotional responses and customer delight. This makes it particularly valuable when aiming to differentiate products in a crowded market or build stronger user loyalty.
Wrap up
The Kano model is an essential tool for any product or UX team looking to build features that drive satisfaction and long-term user loyalty. By understanding and applying the insights from the Kano model, teams can create more thoughtful, impactful products.
Want to prioritize the right product features for your team? Incorporate the Kano model into your workflow to make customer satisfaction your competitive advantage.