Gender-Sensitive Product Design by Kansei Engineering: An Application Example Using Kano-Questionnaire

Abstract

The paper presents a quantitative study based on the Kano-model to gender-sensitive product design by adapting the Japanese user-centered approach of Kansei Engineering. Underlying assumption of the approach is that products are not only perceived by functionality, but essentially by emotions such as joy of use and satisfaction for the fulfilment of user-centered product requirements. Thereby, the customers’ satisfaction is investigated by applying the Kano-method, a procedure to structure product requirements and to determine their influence on customers’ satisfaction. In this study, product designers overtake the role of the customer in order to bridge perspective gaps between customers and designers of products. Thereby it is analyzed, how designers perceive and evaluate products, which requirements they claim as relevant and satisfying, and to what extent the gender plays a role. The results of the study indicate that for the creation of designers’ (as customers’) satisfaction, the same product requirements are – more or less – relevant for both genders. However, there are slight differences in the perception and evaluation of product requirements observable. While women place great importance on hedonic characteristics such as attractiveness, the men are rather indifferent regarding product requirements.

Keywords: Kansei Engineering, Kano-method, product design, emotional user experience, customers’ satisfaction, product requirement, designer perspective

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100572