The under-utilization of the Reverse category
Don't be disappointed when a feature falls in the Reverse category
Many academic researchers don't pay much attention to the Reverse category. But there's a lot to learn from features that fall into this category.
A Reverse feature is one that decreases customer satisfaction when it is present. For example, “some real estate customers may view having large windows in a house as a reverse requirement and want smaller windows instead for energy-saving concerns” (Sirelli et al., 2007)1.
However, this doesn't always mean that the opposite of your Reverse feature should be added to your product.
If you look closer at Reverse features, you'll notice subtle differences in what their being in that category could mean. Take these three examples:
The noise of an air conditioner;
Entering your details when ordering something online;
A restaurant serves you a soup overdosed with salt.
If the noise of your air conditioner is reduced, your satisfaction with it will go up. The less noise, the better.
You expect to have to enter your details when ordering something online. That's accepted and does not create dissatisfaction with a product. However, not having to enter your details at all would generate satisfaction.
An overdose of salt in your soup is not accepted, but its absence would not increase satisfaction. You simply expect soup without an overdose of salt.
You've probably noticed that these three types of "reverseness" correspond to the other main Kano categories:
The noise of the air conditioner is a reverse One-Dimensional feature (the less, the better).
Having to enter your details when ordering online does not generate dissatisfaction. Yet, not having to do so would increase satisfaction. That's a reverse Attract. Ofcourse, Amazon's one-click ordering is changing that, but you get the gist;
The absence of an overdose of salt does not increase satisfaction, but its presence increases dissatisfaction. A reverse Must-Be.
But what about the smaller windows example from the beginning of this chapter?
Some people may think smaller windows are a necessity (reverse Must-be).
Others may accept large windows but would be pleasantly surprised with smaller windows (reverse Attract).
Still others may think: the smaller the windows, the better, but it's not a deal-breaker (reverse One-Dimensional).
It's worth looking in detail at the answers you received to derive the type of reverseness of your feature. Berger et al (1993)2 adapted the Kano lookup table to take into account these different flavours of Reverse:
This nuance will help you decide what to do with the feature. Horton & Goers3 translate these Reverse subcategories to:
Reverse-Attract: a burden, eliminating these is a source of innovation (like Amazon’s one-click ordering) and will attract customers;
Reverse-One-Dimensional: a competitive weakness, reducing these will increase competitiveness (the more silent the air conditioner, the better);
Reverse-Must-Be: a deal-breaker. These features are to be avoided, lest customer will reject your product. No-one wants soup containing more salt than water.
So, next time you see Reverse features coming up in your analysis, don’t panic or just think you need to add the opposite to your product. Do a bit more analysis and you’ll be making even better decisions about your product’s future.
Y. Sireli, P. Kauffmann and E. Ozan, "Integration of Kano's Model Into QFD for Multiple Product Design," in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 380-390, May 2007, doi: 10.1109/TEM.2007.893990.
Berger, Charles, Robert Blauth, and David Boger. "Kano’s Methods For Understanding Customer-Defined Quality." Center for Quality of Management Journal (Fall 1993): 2-28.
Horton, Graham, and Jana Goers. "A revised Kano model and its application in product feature discovery." ResearchGate (2019).