Framework · Behavioral science
Kano model
Kano sorts features by how their presence or absence moves satisfaction: must-be, performance, attractive, indifferent or reverse. Useful before building engagement features, which often delight one segment and annoy another. Limited evidence (C); categories drift over time.
Plain label: must-have, performance and delighter featuresAlso known as: Kano survey, delighters, must-be features
Method. For each feature, ask how people would feel if it were present and if it were absent; map the pair of answers to a category and take the most common one. F19
Evidence. Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies. Widely used; classification methods vary in validity, and small samples give unstable categories.
How it plugs in. Value at Early fit: classify planned features for the segment that loves the product. Protect must-bes first (speed, reliability, privacy). Game features such as leaderboards or streak reminders frequently delight some users while annoying others, which argues for opt-in design and per-segment analysis. Re-run yearly to catch drift.
Sources
Attractive quality and must-be quality · Kano, Seraku, Takahashi and Tsuji, Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control, 1984
Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.A critical review of techniques for classifying quality attributes in the Kano model · Mikulic and Prebezac, Managing Service Quality 21(1), 2011
Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Source IDs: F19
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
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