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Tim O’Connor
Kano Surveys Explained
October 19, 2012 by Tim O'Connor Leave a Comment
Looking for a way to identify must haves, delighters and don’t need to do requirements – and are
Likert scales just not doing it for you? Try a Kano survey.
There is a scene in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, when the Rabbi is asked who’s right about an
argument between two villagers. One of the villagers states their case, and the Rabbi says “you’re
right.” Then the other villager makes their point, and the Rabbi says “you’re right.” Finally a third
villager says, “Rabbi they both can’t be right”, and the Rabbi responds, “you’re right too!”
Market research for product requirements, is a lot like that, in that when you ask what’s most
important using say the typical 5 or 10 point Likert scale, all you get is a big glob of goo where
everything is important, everything seems well… right. So how do you determine which
requirements are essential, which are optional, and which would delight the customer, and how do
you prioritize among customer requirements?
Can you Kano? No that’s not some sort of eastern spiritual trend hot in Hollywood right now. A
Kano survey is one of the easiest and in my opinion, most powerful and reliable ways to help figure
out product requirements.
This questionnaire approach asks pairs of multiple-
choice questions about potential product capabilities.
Half of each pair of questions asks how you would feel
if the product included a particular capability; the
other half of each pair asks how you would feel if the
capability was not provided.
For example, let’s say you run a restaurant and want
to figure out if you need to serve your eggs hot (yea I
know that sounds goofy, but it’s a good way to explain
how a Kano survey works). So first you ask, “how
would you feel if your eggs are served hot”; and you
have five choices:
1. I would be delighted to find it that way
2. I expect it to be that way
3. I’m neutral
4. I would not like it that way but I can live with it that way
5. It must not be that way
Then you ask how the customer would feel if that capability, requirement, feature, etc… is
somehow limited or absent; in this case you ask “If the eggs are not served hot, how do you feel?”
You give them the same 5 choices to pick from.
Another way to ask the questions is ask how the customer would feel if there is a variety of cooking
options for the eggs, say hard boiled, scrambled, fried, etc…, and then ask how the customer
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2. would feel if the options are limited, say only offering scrambled and fried. In both examples you
give them the 5 choices previously mentioned.
Through a series of mathematical calculations you’re able to identify:
1. Must-Be features are items where customer satisfaction does not move above neutral, lesser
or greater functionality does not influence customers, and lack of the feature quickly
dissatisfies the customer. These features are expected to be present. e.g., good brakes or
windshield wipers in a car. In other words, you’re toast if you don’t include them.
2. One-Dimensional features are items where customer satisfaction increases as the feature’s
functionality increases, customer satisfaction falls in proportion to decreased product
functionality, e.g., gas mileage—the higher the gas mileage, the happier the customer is.
These are things you do, if your competition does.
3. Attractive/Excitement features are the items where the customer is satisfied when the
feature is present, satisfaction is greater as functionality increases, and the customer is NOT
dissatisfied when feature is less functional or not present. e.g., if it included a car button to
open window, when pressed, lowers window all the way. These are the things you do to add
excitement to your product which will differentiate you and normally give you higher margin
advantage.
4. Excitement features are for the most part unforeseen by the company but may yield
paramount satisfaction. They are also the hardest ones to prioritize including. Variety is nice,
but you don’t have to be Baskin-Robbins and include every possible exciter. Having
excitement attributes can only help you, so in some scenarios it is ok to not have them
included. The Kano survey will help you figure out which ones to include, and which ones to
leave for another day or revision.
Here’s an example of what a real Kano survey analysis looks like.
So next time you want to figure out what your customers really want and value, try a Kano survey,
and maybe you’ll be right too!
Related posts:
1. Why Panelists Abandon Surveys
2. MR 101: Validity and Reliability in Surveys
3. QR Code-Enabled Mobile Surveys: An Example
4. How to Use Facebook for Market Research Surveys
5. Think Beyond iPad for Tablet Surveys
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