Defining Effective Service Processes with Kano Surveys

In both lean manufacturing Six Sigma and lean Six Sigma for service programs, understanding the voice of the customer, or VOC, for the definition of process improvements is critical to success. Kano surveys can be a powerful tool in capturing the VOC, demonstrating the market's true priorities, and guiding the creation of processes and products to meet these needs. The premise of the Kano survey is that customer satisfaction should be maximized without the addition of unnecessary and costly extras customers do not value.

Kano Survey Structure

Developed by Dr. Noriako Kano of the Tokyo Rika University, the Kano survey categorizes customer requirements which effect overall satisfaction and loyalty into four groups. These categories are essentially a rating system indicating the significance of a particular feature or practice from the customer's perspective. This information is the vital to the creation of customer-centered lean Six Sigma processes.

Categories used within a Kano survey are:

  • Exciting - Features and services given this rating yield considerable customer satisfaction. The absence of these items typically has little negative impact, but their presence is highly convenient and valuable to the customer. Services that fall within this category may include email notification of an impending charge for a deferred billing purchase, for example. Products featuring child-proof and tamper-resistant lids are another.
  • Desired - Consumer requirements falling into this category are usually directly correlated with satisfaction level. In other words, absence of the feature is a negative and presence of it is highly valuable. A product's reliability or lifespan would be assigned to this category, for example. In a service environment, 24-hour access to representatives is desirable.
  • Indifferent - Features and services within this category may, in some circumstances, be significant to a customer, but in terms of overall satisfaction, are not critical. The use of environmentally friendly packing material would fall into this category.
  • Must Be - These items are 'givens'. In other words, these are services and features that must be present for the consumer to even consider a purchase. A car's favorable safety rating or a company's use of secure servers for Internet sales are critical to customer confidence. Absence of these features is enough reason for consumers to take their business elsewhere.

The Kano Survey Process

The process of administering the Kano survey is designed to identify the category into which a customer requirement is assigned. It also provides insights into customer requirements by using positive and negative questioning pairs. For example, a survey may ask "How do you feel about a long waiting period for reaching a service representative by phone?" as well as "How do you feel about a short waiting period for reaching a service representative?" Both questions approach the same issue from a different angle. As a result, a feature's true value to the customer is indicated and may be categorized accordingly.

Use of Kano surveys generates a body of data highly significant to the definition of processes that deliver what customers actually want. As part of a lean Six Sigma transformation plan, process improvements based upon this information ensure decisions, services and products provided deliver value to the consumer without the addition of unnecessary cost for the organization.