Ask how people feel with a feature and without it. Plumeform classifies the pairs so you can distinguish expected functionality from features that add delight.
In practice
In the fictional example below, saved views receive more Attractive responses and scheduled exports receive more Must-have responses. Neither result says what to build first on its own: your audience, implementation cost and product goals still matter.
Write a concrete description of the feature. Ask about it being available, then unavailable. Keep the five reactions in the template's saved order: Like, Expect, Neutral, Tolerate and Dislike. Display shuffling retains option IDs, but replacing the categories changes the measure.
Attractive features add satisfaction; Must-have features are expected; Performance features affect both directions. Indifferent, Reverse and Questionable pairs are also reported. Keep ties visible instead of declaring a winner from an arbitrary tie-break.
Satisfaction is (Attractive + Performance) divided by Attractive + Performance + Must-have + Indifferent. Dissatisfaction is the negative of (Must-have + Performance) over that denominator. Reverse and Questionable pairs are counted but excluded from these coefficients.
A sample of experienced users may expect features that newcomers do not. Describe recruitment and product familiarity. Review uncertain feature descriptions before fielding, and avoid interpreting small differences as established preference differences.
Kano describes stated reactions. These results are unweighted and do not estimate revenue or causal impact. Questionable pairs are a reason to review the answers and wording, not automatic proof of poor-quality participation.
Example results · fictional data
40 fictional respondents answered both questions for each feature. Feature A represents saved views; Feature B represents scheduled exports.
Research results
Calculated from fictional answers for this example. Unweighted; missing or invalid inputs are excluded per measure.
40 complete pairs · 0 incomplete or invalid
Most frequent: Attractive
Satisfaction coefficient: 0.75 · Dissatisfaction coefficient: -0.4. Coefficients exclude Reverse and Questionable pairs; 0 means no observed effect, +1 / −1 the strongest directional result.
40 complete pairs · 0 incomplete or invalid
Most frequent: Must-have
Satisfaction coefficient: 0.35 · Dissatisfaction coefficient: -0.8. Coefficients exclude Reverse and Questionable pairs; 0 means no observed effect, +1 / −1 the strongest directional result.
Illustration only. Calculated from 40 invented answer sets using Plumeform's analysis code. Your results depend on the people you recruit and the answers they give.
Feature A has more Attractive responses, while Feature B has more Must-have responses. Check the full distribution: a most-frequent category does not mean everyone agrees.
Discuss the result alongside implementation cost and the needs of the audience you recruited. Keep Reverse and Questionable pairs visible when reviewing the questionnaire.
Method reading: Microsoft Research: Kano best practices
Paste coded responses into the free browser calculator.
Paired questions with analysis mappings already configured.
Ask about the recent tasks behind feature requests.