Skip to main content
Kano classification describes the market maturity tier of an approach. It answers: what level of satisfaction is this bet targeting?

​
The three tiers

​
Must-have

Table stakes. Causes dissatisfaction if absent, no delight if present. Users expect this. They won’t thank you for it, but they’ll leave without it. Examples: Basic authentication, terms of service page, data export, error messages.

​
Incremental

More is better, each improvement adds proportional value. The user notices and appreciates each step up, but there’s no surprise. Examples: Faster load times, more storage, better search results, self-serve billing.

​
Delighter

Unexpected and disproportionately satisfying. Users didn’t know they wanted this. When it lands, it generates word-of-mouth and loyalty. Examples: AI-assisted planning, proactive coaching, one-click import from existing tools.

​
The car window example

The classic Kano illustration: car windows.
  • Must-have: The window opens and closes (manual crank)
  • Incremental: Power windows (each car gets them, each is a step up)
  • Delighter: Auto-close on rain detection (nobody expected it, everyone loves it)
Over time, delighters become must-haves. Power windows were a delighter in the 1980s. Today, a car without them fails as a must-have.

​
Why it matters for planning

A healthy product has a mix of all three tiers:
  • Early stage: Cover must-haves first, then sprinkle delighters to differentiate. Skip incremental. You don’t have enough users for linear improvements to matter.
  • Growth stage: Backfill incremental improvements. Your must-haves work, your delighters attracted users, now the incremental work retains them.
  • Mature stage: Must-haves are commoditized, incremental is the baseline. New delighters are your competitive edge.
Kano classification helps you see this balance. If all your approaches are must-have, you’re building table stakes but not differentiating. If they’re all delighters, you’re innovating but might be missing fundamentals.

​
Where Kano lives

Kano is set on approaches, not needs. The same need can have approaches at different tiers, that’s the whole point. A need like “users can compare prices” might have a must-have approach (manual entry), an incremental approach (barcode scan), and a delighter approach (AI prediction from photos).