What features to build for your SaaS product and how UX frameworks can help? Part 1
How to choose the most impactful features for your product, using User centric prioritisation frameworks
Knowing WHAT to build is more difficult than HOW to build.
Every product feature is a commitment of time and money, thus an important decision for any product team. And in most companies this is the project manager's (PM's) responsibility. But how do PMs know what features are important for their product? This is where domain knowledge often helps. In established domains, PMs may have enough domain knowledge to make a prioritised feature list without breaking a sweat. But in emerging domains where either the product is new or the user segment is new, it becomes a real challenge. Most startups face this issue from day one. Googles and facebooks of the world face this challenge when they launch a new product or enter an unfamiliar market segment.
Thankfully, there are a bunch of product prioritisation frameworks that one could make use of. Frameworks are template-ised value systems which you can apply to your use case( with a bit of tweaking). Many of these frameworks are extensive analytical exercises. I am particularly interested in frameworks that are based on user understanding, user needs and desires.
So in this series we will deconstruct four UX based frameworks and how to practically apply them to your product/project.
Kano model (simplified version)
Story mapping
Buy a feature
R.I.C.E framework
Part 1: Kano model (Simplified lite version)
The key idea of kano model is to rate features based on their "expected impact on customer satisfaction". It defines customer satisfaction on a linear scale with these different emotional states…
In simple terms, terms, it is super bad, bad, Ah..its ok, good and amazing. Similarly it breaks down product features into 5 categories from worst to best as follows…
So for each of the features, we have two choices, whether to include it in our product or not. If included, what is the emotional response we expect from the customer? and if not included what is the emotional state we expect from the customer? Let us look at all possible options here.
Simple steps to apply kano for your project
Make a list of all features that you would like to build for your product.
For each of them, ask yourself how your user would feel if that particular feature is present and works very well. Pick one of the emotional states described above.
Similarly, if that particular feature is absent, how would your user react? Pick an emotional state.
Based on the emotional states picked for feature being present or absent, your feature list will fall under one of the following "value" categories.
Basic features
Basic features are bare minimum things that users anyway expect from your product.
If present, they are not going to fall in love with your product, but if absent, definitely they are going to get frustrated. Consider this as basic hygiene check and include all features from this category.
Satisfiers
These are the core set of features that forms a bulk of your product offering. They are the prime reasons why your customer is paying for your software or coming to your website. There is a direct correlation to customer happiness here.
If present they are satisfied. If absent, they are dissatisfied. So try to include as much as practically possible from this list.
Delighters
These are super amazing features that either the customer is not actively expecting from your offering. They may be a novel way of doing something that they are not aware of and hence not consciously expecting.
But if you do give them these features, it may delight them. If you don't give them these features, since they are not actively expecting them, they may not be disappointed by it and the reaction would be neutral. Include a few of them in your product. They are your differentiators.
Negative is self explanatory.
These are the features that will annoy the users. So don't even think of investing time in them. One classic example of this (if you are from 90s) is the Clippy from MS Office products that we all instantly close.
It is a smart assistant tool that answers anything you ask and was very difficult to turn it off. It may sound like a precursor to today's siri or google assist, but may be the execution or the tacky animation of this clippy made it so annoying that most folks close it within few seconds of it popping.
Pros of Kano model
Encourages the product team to think "consciously" of the user and their needs. It is a good exercise in creating user empathy within the team. Shifts the focus from 'what i can do' to 'what users will like'.
Works well for products of all stages and lifecycle. Works equally well for new launches and existing product improvements.
Cons of Kano model
Does not take into account engineering effort and time value. It is largely about what is best for the user.
Isn't this the responsibility of a PM? What does UX has to do with it?
In an ideal situation, the entire team including engineering, UX, marketing and support staff should be involved in this process with the PM leading and curating the inputs. But for all practical reasons, Product managers (PMs) end up doing this in most companies.
Designers can add unique value by bringing the most relevant user research inputs to assess what emotional impact a particular feature will have on the user. Users may not spell out the exact feature that they may die for but understanding their underlying motivations, fears, needs and desires will give you a fair idea to make a close guess of the potential impact. It is always iterative process but at least a UXer make the starting point so much closer to the sweet spot and also give a sense of direction to improve further.
Coming next…
Stay tuned for part 2 on Story mapping technique and how it can help you prioritise your product features.