Research & discovery

Kano model

Classify features as basic, performance, delighters or indifferent through a customer questionnaire.

When. On a mature product the backlog is full of "basics" nobody will notice. Kano separates them from true differentiators.

Duration
2 h
Participants
Product + customer panel
Output
Kano classification of the backlog
Stage
Post-PMF · Scale-up · Mature
DelightersPerformanceIndifferentBasicFeature absentFeature presentDissatisfiedSatisfied
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Filled example

DelightersAutomatic routeplanningPhoto annotationswith arrowsCustomer portal withintervention historyPerformanceParts catalogue withbarcode scanInvoicingintegration(Pennylane, Sage)Time to sync after ano-signal jobIndifferentTechnician skillsmatrixDark themeWeekly PDF report byemailBasicOffline modeCustomer signatureon the phonePhotos attached tothe right jobFeature absentFeature presentDissatisfiedSatisfied

Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.

Mature Fieldnote: Karim runs a Kano questionnaire with 60 owners on 8 roadmap candidates before the annual plan.

What the team took away

Offline mode is a basic: nobody will praise it, everyone will leave without it. The skills matrix, loud in sales calls, scored indifferent and left the roadmap.

How to run it

Preparation

Agenda

  1. 15 min
    Explain the categories
    Basic: expected, absence angers. Performance: more is better. Delighter: unexpected, absence is fine. Indifferent: nobody cares. Give one example of each from your own product.
  2. 30 min
    Place the features
    Post each feature in the category that won the count. Mark close calls where two categories are within 10 %.
  3. 30 min
    Read the surprises
    Which features the team thought were delighters turned out basic, and which loud requests turned out indifferent. Customer success explains the accounts behind each surprise.
  4. 25 min
    Segment check
    Split the results by segment or plan. A feature basic for enterprise and indifferent for SMB is a packaging decision, not a build decision.
  5. 20 min
    Decide
    Basics missing go first, no debate. Then choose between performance and delighters based on strategy. Indifferent gets cut from the backlog today.

Pitfalls

Afterwards

The classified list feeds the RICE scoring or the roadmap: basics first, then the strategic choice. Share the surprises with sales and marketing; they change the pitch. Rerun on a new segment or every 12 months.

Source : Noriaki Kano

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