Quality Management and the Kano Model

Part Two:

1.

The Kano model is a tool that can be used to prioritize the Critical to Quality characteristics, as defined by the Voice of the Customer
The three categories identified by the Kano model are:

Must Be: The quailty characteristic must be present or the customer will go elsewhere.
Performance: The better we are at meeting these needs, the happier the customer is.
Delighter: Those qualities that the customer was not expecting but received as a bonus

The First Step for Creating the Kano Model: Identifying the Voice of the Customer

The first step for creating the Kano model is to identify the quality characteristics that are typically fuzzy, vague and nebulous. These quality characteristics are referred to as the Voice of the Customer (VOC). Once the Voice of the Customer is understood, we can attempt to translate it into quantitative terms known as critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics. This should not be a new concept for those familiar with the Six Sigma methodology. What happens from here, though, can sometimes go astray if we are not careful and try to put our own spin on the needs of the customer. This may be the result of trying to make things more easily obtainable for us—a formula for failure.

Use the Kano Model to Prioritize the Critical to Quality Characteristics

So, now that we have identified what is important to the customer in workable terms, we can go to the second step. Always keeping the customer in mind, we can apply the concepts outlined in the Kano model diagram

The Kano model is broken down into an (x, y) graph, where the x-axis of the Kano model represents how good we are at achieving the customer’s outcome(s), or CTQ’s. The y-axis of the Kano model records the customer’s level of satisfaction as a result of our level of achievement.

The red line on the Kano model represents the Must Bes. That is, whatever the quality characteristic is, it must be present; if the quality characteristic is not met,