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Glossary
Prioritization

What is Kano Model?

The Kano Model is a product development framework used to prioritize features based on how they impact customer satisfaction. It categorizes requirements into five groups—Must-be, Performance, Attractive, Indifferent, and Reverse—to help teams distinguish between basic needs and true differentiators.

When to use it

Teams should apply the Kano Model when they need to understand which features are 'table stakes' versus which will provide a competitive advantage. It is especially useful for product managers trying to avoid 'feature bloat' by identifying which capabilities users are actually indifferent toward. Use it during discovery or roadmap planning to ensure a balanced mix of maintenance and innovation.

Example

A team developing a mobile app identifies 'Secure Login' as a Must-be feature because users are highly dissatisfied without it but take it for granted when it works. They categorize 'Customizable UI Themes' as an Attractive feature, which delights early adopters but doesn't hurt retention if left out. By surveying 200 customers using functional and dysfunctional questions, the team realizes a proposed 'Social Sharing' feature falls into the Indifferent category, leading them to scrap it and reallocate resources to the Performance-boosting 'Sync Speed' instead.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Kano Model

Planet Roadmap's public feedback portal and feature voting tools allow you to collect the qualitative user sentiment data necessary to map requests into Kano categories.

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FAQ

What is the difference between a 'Must-be' and a 'Performance' feature?
A 'Must-be' feature is a basic requirement that only causes dissatisfaction if missing (e.g., a steering wheel in a car), whereas a 'Performance' feature increases satisfaction linearly as it improves (e.g., gas mileage or storage space).
How do you handle 'Indifferent' features in the Kano Model?
Features categorized as 'Indifferent' should typically be removed from the roadmap, as they require development effort but do not significantly impact user satisfaction or the product's value proposition.

Related terms

RICE ScoreICE ScoreMoSCoW MethodValue vs Effort MatrixWeighted ScoringFeedback PortalProduct Strategy

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