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Part II · Structure · 2 of 5
8.7

Both Tracks in One Matrixreading the Branch at Lead

The matrix is easiest to read as two segments: a shared base, then forked tracks.

LevelVerbIC TitleManagementTheme · ScopeUpstream pathDownstream path
1FollowAssociateIC only (pre-branch)Craft, professionalism. Portfolio built; little shipped work. Function-level problems.Building research habitsBuilding prototyping habits
2AssistSeniorIC only (pre-branch)Communication, craft. Shipped across multiple product areas. Reliable and consistent delivery.Conducting research; synthesising insightsHigh-fidelity prototyping; component thinking
3 ★ApplyLead› Manager
Branch decision. Pivot to people leadership.		Depth, cross-functional leadership. Owns a discipline. Branch here.Behavioural analysis; hypothesis framingFront-end exploration; design system contributions
4EnableStaffSr Manager
Manages 4–5 reports. Programme-level thinking.		Programmes not projects. Deep in 2 skills. Design Strategist or Experience Engineer emerges.Strategist: data fluency, psychology, upstream influenceEngineer: UX engineering, code-level craft
5EnsurePrincipalVP of Design
Manages managers. Org-wide leadership.		Breadth, thought leadership. New patterns and practices. Shapes org process.Defines strategy methodology; shapes the org’s upstream processDefines design-engineering standards; influences product architecture
6Direct & AdviseAdvisorSVP / CDO
Recruiting culture. Company-level accountability.		Industry-defining. Identifies new value. Attracts talent. Promotes externally.Shapes industry discourse on strategic designShapes industry discourse on design engineering

Levels 1 and 2 are pre-branch: every designer works as an IC, and the work of the Associate (Follow) and Senior (Assist) is shared across what will later become two tracks, building the craft reflexes (Associate) and the horizontal bar (Senior) that both tracks rely on. Levels 3 through 6 are forked: at each, the IC and management tracks run in parallel, the same numeric level designating roughly equivalent scope and compensation but different work. The six levels are a single ladder. The tracks are how that ladder expresses itself at different points.

The matrix’s central claim is that the two tracks are not a hierarchy. Most organisations treat management as promotion from IC, a move upward rather than sideways, and that pattern is a distortion the framework rejects. A Principal and a VP of Design do different work at the same level of seniority, with comparable scope and organisational influence.