New products need direction, but how can businesses, particularly growing ones, get a strategic view of product development without either disrupting the day-to-day or dragging leadership into operations? It’s not a new question, but it may be more important than ever. Brian Herron, director at user experience (UX) design house Each&Other, said that, following the post-pandemic ‘techcession’ and the rapid development of new technology in the form of artificial intelligence (AI), he is seeing signs that businesses are now moving into a period where there is pent-up demand to meet and a widespread understanding that investment is going to grow. “We can see it in the people approaching us, of whom there has been a huge increase, and it stands to reason as there is now immense pressure on people due to new technologies and the need to find new customer groups,” he said. As a result, Herron’s prescription is for two things: levering up the core offering, and bringing new features and new product lines to market. However, this presents a really big challenge to organisations as it means scaling or developing a new, more efficient way to do things, he said. “The vibe shift is a challenge for scale-ups. The instinct that will be there is to work harder and try to do everything, but your ability to deliver will be throttled by the leadership and clarity that your team can bring,” he said. ‘Scale-ups’, which are typically companies with a product on the market, often facing down against an incumbent player, are in an interesting position, he said. Most are growing, but there is an awareness of the threat of both renewed spending by incumbents and the likely threat from new, AI-centred start-ups. None of which is to say that businesses have been asleep at the wheel; nevertheless, there is a renewed urgency as the customer landscape is starting to shift. “The tech recession that we have gone through is coming to an end – this is true for all companies, but it’s especially true for scale-ups – technology is moving rapidly, but also, just at a more practical level, companies that have gone through realignment [now] have a desire to move forward,” said Herron. It’s not just about adding more firepower to a team that may already be able to do what they need to in terms of a product, but to bring in that strategic view. So-called ‘founder syndrome’, where founders can’t let go of the day-to-day operations, is also a problem. “Leadership teams are continually being sucked back into the product world because the product portfolio is growing, and, yes, you have the downside of ‘founder mode’ where people’s attention should be on the business but is stuck on the product.” A new way to deliver The answer Each&Other proposes to this is to place user experience (UX) design at the heart of product leadership, but in a way that scale-ups can afford. In other words, by contracting for what Each&Other calls a ‘fractional head of design’ role. “The temptation will be to hire in more do-ers, but that brings cost and there is a nervousness about cost. The answer may be to ground your team in better practices and strengthen the backbone of that team. Your team might be great at delivering, but you can help them by bringing the clarity and experience of a UX professional,” he said. By taking on a head of design on a fractional basis, he said, businesses can not only strengthen their product teams but also reduce pressure on leadership and allow them to concentrate on the business. “Bringing in a new leadership layer is expensive. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that you don’t need that person to come in full-time. You can have them come in however many days a month and work on the product and build up teams of about five or ten,” he said. The concept of the fractional head of design has its roots in two places. Firstly, IT, where fractional heads of IT and fractional CIOs are already a known quantity, and, secondly, in Each&Other’s own internal methodology. “It’s taking what has worked for us and showing how it can work for others. It’s not just about adding more firepower to a team that may already be able to do what they need to in terms of a product, but to bring in that strategic view – and do it without having an impact on your P&O [people and organisation],” he said. Ultimately, he said, this will help as competition is set to ramp up fast in the next year-and-a-half of the business cycle. “The next 18 months of high investment mean you need the plan to be there and the oversight to be there, so your team can concentrate on doing the work. You need that steady hand on the tiller, and you can get that by bringing someone in who can act as your eyes and ears.”