The Gravity of Expectations

Product Management would be easy if customer expectations stayed static. But they don’t. Customer satisfaction is a Hedonic Treadmill.

The moment you ship a revolutionary feature, the clock starts ticking. Competitors copy it. Users get used to it. The magic fades. To understand this lifecycle, we use the Kano Model.

The 3 Categories of Features

1. The Basics (Must-Haves)

• Definition: These are non-negotiable.
• The Trap: You get Zero Credit for doing them well.
• Example: A car having 4 wheels. A banking app having a “Forgot Password” link.
• Strategy: Build them to a “Good Enough” standard. Do not over-invest here. You can’t “delight” someone by having a working login page. You can only prevent anger.

2. The Performance Attributes (More is Better)

• Definition: Satisfaction scales linearly with quality.
• The Trap: This is an infinite arms race.
• Example: Internet speed. Battery life. Storage space.
• Strategy: Invest here to compete. If your competitor has 10GB storage, and you have 20GB, you win.

3. The Delighters (The Wow Factor)

• Definition: Features users didn’t know they wanted, but love when they find.
• The Trap: If you miss these, nobody complains (because they don’t expect them). But if you have them, you create loyalty.
• Example: Uber showing the little car moving on the map. The “Confetti” animation when you complete a task in Asana.
• Strategy: You need at least one Delighter to differentiate your brand.

The “Drift” Phenomenon

The most critical lesson of the Kano Model is Time. Over time, all features drift downwards.

• 2007: Multi-touch screens were a Delighter (iPhone).
• 2015: Multi-touch screens were a Performance attribute (Competitors caught up).
• 2025: Multi-touch screens are a Basic (If a phone doesn’t have it, it’s trash).

The PM Takeaway: Roadmap Balance

When planning your roadmap, you need a balanced diet. If you only build Basics, your product is boring. If you only build Delighters, your product is buggy and unstable (you ignored the basics).

The Winning Ratio:

• 60% Performance: Keep making the core product faster/better.
• 20% Basics: Fix the bugs and technical debt that cause frustration.
• 20% Delighters: Take a risk on something new to wow the market.

Conclusion

You cannot stop expectations from rising. The only way to win is to recognize that your “Best Feature” is aging. Start working on the next one before the current one becomes a “Basic.”