Kano Model
The Kano Model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed by Professor Noriaki Kano and colleagues (Seraku, Takahashi, Tsuji) at Tokyo University of Science, first published in 1984 in the Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control. The model classifies product and service attributes into five Quality Attributes: Must-be Quality, One-dimensional Quality, Attractive Quality, Indifferent Quality, and Reverse Quality. A key insight is that quality attributes migrate over time: today’s Attractive Quality becomes tomorrow’s Must-be Quality as customer expectations evolve.