Product Strategy & Experience Design
Don't just build faster. Build the right thing.
Most software projects fail not because of bad code, but because of ambiguity. At Patient Zero, our Product & Design practice acts as the strategic engine for our engineering teams.
We go beyond basic requirement gathering. We act as Strategic Analysts and Technical Product Owners, digging past the symptoms to find the root business value.
By combining ruthless prioritisation with AI-augmented research, we build the runway ahead of your developers, ensuring they always have a prioritised, "Ready-to-Build" backlog that keeps velocity high.
Why Experience Architecture?
In the enterprise, "UX" is often mistaken for making things look good. We believe in Experience Architecture.
Just as a structural architect ensures a building stands up, our designers ensure your digital product supports your business logic. We bridge the gap between human needs and complex back-end constraints, designing systems that are intuitive for users but viable for engineers to build.
We Don't Hand Over. We Embed.
Unlike traditional agencies that deliver a Figma file and vanish, our Product Owners and Designers are
embedded leaders. They act as the strategic anchor of the team, working side-by-side with developers to ensure the "Why" never gets lost in the "How."
Strategic Product Ownership
Defining the Path to ROI.
We don't just manage backlogs; we build Business Cases. Our Product Managers align executive vision with engineering reality to create roadmaps that are actually executable.
Business Case Development: Proving the ROI before you spend.
Executable Roadmaps: Timelines based on engineering velocity, not wishful thinking.
Ruthless Prioritisation: Defining the MVP.
Enterprise Experience Architecture
Design that survives reality.
We move beyond wireframes to design robust user flows. We use AI-Augmented Research to validate concepts faster and ensure accessibility (WCAG) compliance.
Complex System UI: Designing for high-density data and expert workflows.
Rapid Prototyping: Validating logic before code.
Accessibility (WCAG): Ensuring sovereign standards are baked in from Day 1.
Solution Architecture & Feasibility
Viability before code.
Strategy without architecture is a hallucination. We validate the Technical Feasibility of every feature during the design phase, ensuring your roadmap doesn't break your legacy stack.
Tech Stack Validation: Ensuring the design fits your architecture.
Legacy Impact Analysis: "If we build feature X, what breaks?"
Build vs Buy Strategy: advising on the most efficient path.
The Paid Discovery
Don't Commit to a Build. Commit to a Discovery.
Before you sign a massive development contract, you need certainty. We offer a structured, fixed-cost Discovery Engagement designed to de-risk your investment.
Whether you are launching a Greenfields product or rescuing a stalled one, our Discovery Sprint delivers the "Blueprints" you need to build with confidence.
What you get in the Discovery Pack
The Business Case
A clear ROI model and success metrics.
The Visual Prototype
Wireframes to align stakeholders.
The Technical Architecture
A validated solution design that checks feasibility against your current stack.
The Executable Roadmap
A sprint-by-sprint plan for the team.
The Rigour Behind the Speed
We don't trade quality for velocity. We use established frameworks to ensure our output is engineering-ready.
INVEST
Principles
Every User Story we write is Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. This ensures developers have zero ambiguity before they start coding.
WCAG 2.1 Accessibility
Work across front-end, back-end, integrations, and infrastructure patterns as needed.
Atomic
Design
We treat UI as a system of components, not pages. This allows developers to build a Design System that speeds up future builds and ensures consistency across the platform.
Lean & Just-in-Time
We avoid "Big Design Up Front." We focus on Just-in-Time requirements, defining the details for the immediate sprint while keeping the long-term vision flexible.
See the Strategy in Action
FAQs
We already have a Product Manager. Do we really need one of yours?
Yes. We don't replace your Product Manager; we empower them.
In our model, your Product Manager acts as the "Visionary" (owning the business value and stakeholders). Our Product Owner acts as the "Tactical Captain" (owning the backlog, the team velocity, and the technical translation).
Our POs are responsible for the "3-Sprint Runway." They work ahead of the developers to ensure requirements are ready, unblocking the team so they never run out of work. Without this role, velocity creates a "stop-start" pattern that kills momentum.
Do I need to pay for a full-time Designer for the whole project?
No. Design should be high-intensity, not high-overhead.
We often front-load Experience Architecture in Sprint 0 to set the direction, then taper the designer down to a "support" or part-time model once the runway is clear. They stay available to clarify the vision, but you only pay for the capacity needed to keep the engineers moving.
How does your Product Owner work with the developers?
They are embedded 100%. They don't sit in a separate department; they are in the stand-ups, managing the JIRA/DevOps board, and unblocking the engineers in real-time. They are the single source of truth for the team.
Can we just start coding immediately?
Yes, if the backlog is ready.
If you have a prioritised, technically validated backlog, we can start executing on Day 1. If not, we run a rapid Sprint 0 to build that backlog. Our rule is simple: we never want developers sitting idle waiting for answers. That costs you unnecessary money.
