Introduction
The Kano Model is another prioritization tool product managers may use to prioritize their backlogs. Put simply, the Kano Model prioritizes things with respect to:
- The product/feature’s potential to satisfy customers/users
- The investment needed to implement and deliver the product/feature
How does the Kano Model work?
First, pull together a list of potential new features you are evaluating for your product. Then, weigh each of them with respect to:
- How likely are they to satisfy your customers?
- How much of an investment is needed to deliver them?
With that in mind, you’ll want to bucket features that are necessary for your product’s relevancy in its market, features that are exciting for your customers, features that increase customer satisfaction, and features that are none of the above.
- Features necessary for your product’s relevancy are things that your product needs in order to be competitive and a valid option for your target audience.
- Features exciting for your customers are things that your customers might not be looking for, but if you were to include them in your product, then you’d enjoy a significant spike in customer delight. These are things that give a disproportionate amount of satisfaction in exchange for the effort you put into them.
- Features that increase customer satisfaction are more linear in nature; the satisfaction the generate are proportionate to the amount of effort you put into them.
Conclusion
The Kano Model is a useful means of prioritizing features. It’s particularly good when you have limited time and resources and need to balance between your product or feature’s MVP vs. cherry-on-top features. There are many different reasons why you might want to build out a particular feature; using the Kano Model will help you identify which ones your customer will love more than others.