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Tool 3 · Define

Build a Kano model

Classify customer needs as basic, performance or delight and see on the graph what an unmet basic need does to satisfaction. The tool gives the order of improvement and the questions for the customer conversation.

Kano model
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Need metnot metmetCustomer satisfactionsatisfieddissatisfiedMust-beMore is betterDelighterover time...1234561The policy arrives within five working days2Name and details are correct on the policy3Quick answers to questions, also by phone4A fixed contact person who knows the file5Proactive notice when a change in the law affects…6Annual check whether the cover still fitsleansixsigmagroep.nl/en/tools/kano-model/

Every need sits on the line of its type, at the point of its fulfilment. An unmet basic need sits at the bottom: that is where the dissatisfaction is.

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Which improvement first?

Basics in order first, then improve the performance attributes, and only then delight. Within a type, the least fulfilled comes first.

  1. 1.1The policy arrives within five working days · basic, not met
  2. 2.2Name and details are correct on the policy · basic, partly
  3. 3.3Quick answers to questions, also by phone · performance, partly
  4. 4.5Proactive notice when a change in the law affects the cover · delight, not met
  5. 5.6Annual check whether the cover still fits · delight, not met

Your Kano analysis is complete.

Take the priority into your project plan and repeat the analysis in a year: what surprises today will be taken for granted by then.

Question list for the customer conversation

The three questions from the practical example in the e-book, one per type of attribute. Take them with you and then add to the needs above.

  1. 1What do you expect from the handling of insurance applications for brokers at the very least? What simply has to be in order?Basic: must-be: taken for granted, missing it causes immediate dissatisfaction
  2. 2What makes you happy when you get more of it from the handling of insurance applications for brokers?Performance: more is better: the more of it, the more satisfied
  3. 3How could we surprise you with the handling of insurance applications for brokers?Delight: attractive: not expected, but makes the difference

Three types of attributes

  • Basic attributes (must-be). Customers take them for granted and do not mention them on their own. If they are missing, the customer is immediately dissatisfied; if they are in order, that brings no satisfaction.
  • Performance attributes (more is better). Expected, and the more of them, the more satisfied: faster, cheaper, easier to reach.
  • Delight attributes (attractive). Not expected, but with a big impact on satisfaction. Often small extras.

And mind the arrow "over time" in the graph: what surprises today is taken for granted in a few years. So repeat the analysis regularly.

In three steps

  1. Get in touch with the customer. The question list at the bottom of the tool has one question per type of attribute. For every need, tick whether you really heard it from customers; the tool warns when it is mostly your own assumptions.
  2. Collect and classify. For every need, the type of attribute and how far it is met today.
  3. Plot and choose. The graph shows where the dissatisfaction is. The priority follows the e-book: basics in order first, then improve the service, and finally delight the customer.

When do you use it?

In the Define phase, at step 2 of the nine-step plan: the customer and the customer need. In the practical example from our e-book a Black Belt used the model three times in one project: to draw up the questions for the customer survey, to visualise the results, and to choose which improvement came first. That turned out to be the lead time: basics in order first.

All tools Read the article in the knowledge base