Kansei Engineering - Translation of Consumers Voice Into Product Designs

[Steven Bonacorsi]

What is Kansei engineering?

Kansei is a Japanese term. It describes the psychological feeling or
image of a product or service from the customers perspective. Kansei
engineering refers to the translation of consumers' psychological
feeling about a product or service into design elements. This is often
performed in the Define Phase of a Lean Six Sigma Project and more
common in Design of Six Sigma and even TRIZ projects. Kansei
engineering is sometimes referred to as "sensory engineering" or
"emotional usability." Kansei is more involved than collecting the
Voice of The Customer (VOC) but instead a technique that involves
determining which sensory attributes will elicit particular subjective
responses from customers. These responses are then interpreted and
designed into a product using the attributes which will elicit the
desired emotional responses.

Kansei engineering usually begins with a set of products that are
diverse. The goal is to provoke a wide range of different customer
emotional responses. Sets of bipolar attribute rating scales are often
used to assess these subjective responses. A typical bipolar attribute
rating scale uses a pair of opposed terms, such as simple vs. complex
or enticing vs. repulsive. They are then placed on a continuum
represented as a line so that values can be visually plotted.
Customers are asked to mark the line to indicate where they think a
product falls relative to the two attributes in question. This is
usually done without others seeing so as not to bias the outcome.

Each product or service is rated on each attribute scale. Next, the
ratings are statistically compared to provide a distribution of
products across the different rating criteria. Analyzing all products
and Services rated highly on a particular characteristic allows you to
draw conclusions about which perceptual elements are responsible for
eliciting this subjective judgment. These emotional links are
considered useful measurable data where none was present or aware
before conducting the study.

What Areas is Kansei engineering applied?

Any product or service that is intended to communicate a specific user
experience by means of visual, auditory, or tactile features is a good
candidate for Kansei engineering. Kansei engineering must be applied
at a point in the development cycle where sufficient flexibility
exists to make decisions concerning the visual, auditory or tactile
format of the product. Kansei engineering has been applied with great
success in the automotive industry (the Mazda Miata being a notable
example) and is being extended to other product domains including
consumer products and software systems.

Where does Kansei engineering fit into the overall design process?

Usually In the middle, after the information architecture has been
defined. Kansei engineering usually occurs before the user interface
specification has begun development findings. Kansei engineering will
impact visual appearance attributes and, in some cases, interaction
techniques. This includes packaging.


Steven Bonacorsi is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
instructor and coach. Steven Bonacorsi has trained hundreds of Master
Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts, and Project Sponsors and
Executive Leaders in Lean Six Sigma DMAIC and Design for Lean Six
Sigma process improvement methodologies.

Author for the Process Excellence Network (PEX Network / IQPC)

Process Excellence Network
Steven Bonacorsi, President of International Standard for Lean Six
Sigma(ISLSS)
Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
47 Seasons Lane
Londonderry, NH 03053
Phone: +(1) (603) 401-7047
E-mail: sbona...@islss.com
Process Excellence Network: http://bit.ly/n4hBwu

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