Product Feature Prioritization- KANO Model

New requirements are always bombarding product managers. A new requirement can be in the form of :
               enhancing an existing feature    or               adding entirely  new features in product

list of features to be developed is long 
                        => time & resources  to develop are low

While some choices are straight forward , often their are competing features and its difficult to pick the priority of one feature vs the other feature.

Kano Model is a solution to this problem

Why Product feature prioritization is crucial ?

• A poorly conceived product can result in user dissatisfaction
• Features in product are selling points for the product. It is important to come up with right set of features to attract potential customers
• Absence of a certain feature at certain point in product evolution can lead to user dissatisfaction which may lead to drop in usage

Why Product prioritization is required ?

Usually product development is constrained by 

• Cost
• Resource
• Time

What ever is desired cannot be developed in one go

During initial  development phase :
        It is important to come up with minimal viable product (MVP). An MVP is basically the minimum feature set required to make product usable & acceptable by customers

After the initial release :  
       It is important to prioritize feature development based on factors such as

• Customer needs
• Pain areas in using product
• Performance 

      Features which are more critical need to be put first in the row to provide an early relief.

How to set priority ?

This is one area where the art and science of product management converge!

You must be passionately committed to your customers and stakeholders. At the same time you should be able to objectively set priorities to help them. 

It is important to delight your customers , but at the same time it is important to understand your constrains and take the right decisions.

Choosing the right tool and mechanisms for making decisions is very critical.  Kano Model is one such tool.

Kano Model for prioritization

The Kano Model is a theory that was developed by Noriaka Kano in the 1970s and 1980s while studying quality control and customer satisfaction. 

Kano Analysis allows you to classify product (or service) features according to their impact on customer satisfaction. 
It not only helps you in deciding but also explaining your decisions to stakeholders.

As per Kano model any feature should fall in any one of these three categories:

 1 Basic ( customer expect these )

A basic product feature is one that is essential for a product.  
Not having this type of feature will leave customers dissatisfied. However having this feature will not add to satisfaction level as these features are taken as granted by customer.

For example if you are buying a car , a basic product feature for a car would be a steering wheel or an engine. A car needs both to function. 

If these features are not there , customers cannot use the product. However having then is not adding to satisfaction level. In other words these features are noticed only if they are absent.

2 Satisfiers ( customer demands these : more the better)

Customers wants these type of features as opposed to expect. The more we deliver, the happier the customer. Doing well here allows us to create satisfied customers.

Some examples could be lower prices, larger amount , faster delivery , greater reliability etc.

For example a satisfier feature  for a car is fuel efficiency. People tend to prefer cars with a better fuel efficiency.

More of these types of features are there in product , more satisfied the customer will be.

 3 Delighters ( customer do not demand but is highly satisfied to have them)

 Delightful feature are ones that are neither necessary nor demanded by customer . But if they are added they really can really excite and raise satisfaction level to very high level. 

For example for a car, a delightful attribute could be a convertible roof. On the right sporty car and for the right customers, a convertible roof can be really fun. But it’s not essential for the car to work, and also doesn't enhance the car’s performance.

How to use KANO Model

Map your features as per KANO Model to determine :

1. What are the basic features  that users simply expect to be there and where would the absence of these features lead to frustration? Only develop these features to a level that they fulfill the requirement. Remember that any further enhancement after satisfaction level will not increase satisfaction.
2. Which features are Delighters? Focus  efforts here and make sure you’re constantly developing new ones.
3. 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. Find and focus on sustainable delighters that truly differentiate your product and continue to deliver customer satisfaction over time

Changes in feature categories

It is important to remember that category of features may keep on changing due to following factors:

• New competitive products emerging in market
• Higher expectation from customers after using a feature
• Tendency to take a feature as granted ( basic) after using it for long time.

Therefore it is important to ensure that category of features is revised from time to time.

Product managers need to keep track that which delightful features have become satisfier and eventually basic features. It is also important to keep on adding delighters to keep customers excited.

The Kano Model in action

Now that what Kano model is all about , how can you go about gathering data to plot features as per kano model. Customer Survey is a great method. Basically two questions are asked about each proposed feature:

1. What do you think of the product if it includes feature X?
2. What do you think of the product if it does not include feature X?

There can be three valid responses to these question:

1. I Like It
2. It Does not matter
3. I dislike it

The answers to these questions determine the Kano categorization as follows:

• Basic: Neutral for presence, Dislike for absence
• Satisfiers: Like for presence, Dislike for absence
• Delighters: Like for presence, Neutral for absence

Once the features are categorized , you can think about next release in terms of customer satisfaction. Note that there is no "right" mix. The pick of feature will vary based on market conditions and state of product development cycle