• Attractive – also referred to as exciters or delighters these are unexpected features that increase the attractiveness of the overall product. Their absence does not hurt the perception of the overall product because they are not expected to be there, but their presence will have an impact.
• Performance – these features are directly related to overall satisfaction to the product, and how well it performs matters. The better this feature functions, the more satisfaction there is with the overall product.  Likewise, poor performance or its absence reduces satisfaction with the product.
• Must-have – similar to performance features, these are expected by consumer. There will be dissatisfaction and disappointment if this feature is not present.  However, these features are considered basic table stakes and do not increase excitement for the product.
• Indifferent – these features are not attractive or unattractive. Their presence or absence has no impact on whether a consumer is satisfied or dissatisfied with the overall product.

To determine which category each feature belongs to, two questions are asked:

1. How would you feel if the product INCLUDED this feature?
2. How would you feel if the product DID NOT INCLUDE this feature?

Responses are captured on a 5-point satisfaction scale.  The discrete method for analyzing the results uses a counts analysis to determine each feature's category.  For a description how the discrete method is applied, please refer to this article.

The continuous method categorizes each feature along with providing a visualization that allows for more understanding of the relative differences among all the tested features.  To accomplish this, the 5-point scales are recoded to weight satisfaction more strongly than dissatisfaction and align their direction such that a more positive score indicates more desire for inclusion.

These scores are then averaged for each question and plotted on a chart to identify its classification.

The upper right quadrant is where most features will fall and is the portion displayed in your report.  If a feature falls in one of the other three quadrants, its category will be identified but will not be visible on the chart.

• Questionable features are those where responses to the questions were conflicting, suggesting either a mutual dislike for including and excluding, or a mutual like of including and excluding.
  • For these items, it is recommended to review how the question was worded, as it may have been confusing to respondents. Additionally, using the satisfaction anchors for the questions, rather than "I like it", "I expect it", etc., may reduce the number of questionable features because they better capture the ordinal nature of the scale.
• Reversed features are one where there is a preference for not including the feature.
  • If, upon review, the questions were found to be worded properly, this could provide some useful insight into features that users may find problematic.