A New Methodology Based on Kano Model for the Evaluation of a New Product Acceptability during the Front-End Phases

Companies, which work on innovative products development, encounter difficulties to launch and commercialize new ideas. Many ideas, considered by companies as innovative, turn out to be commercial failures. Knowing customers needs and desires help companies preventing this situation and proposing successful products (products in their general definition, either material goods or services). Moreover, the earlier they know these needs, the greater their succeeding chances will be. This paper proposes a new methodology within three steps, to identify major stakeholderspsila needs, to classify and evaluate them and finally to compare several concepts. Kano model is used for requirement assessment and classification within four categories. This method can be used as decision aid tool for selecting the needs that should be fulfilled, according to their importance for the company.