Stop Building XR Projects and Adopt a Product Mindset
- Chris Burgess
- Sep 1
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Europe’s XR scene is full of creative projects, but sustainable growth depends on adopting a true product mindset that connects users, developers, and buyers.
In February this year (2025), I joined XR4Europe for a deep dive on moving from XR projects to XR products. The audience was engaged and full of questions.
This article expands on the ideas from that session and offers a clearer path you can use to put them into practice.
Projects vs Products
Before we get into it, the first step is to recognise the difference. Projects deliver outputs; products deliver outcomes.
Projects
Fixed by brief
Driven by funding or contract
One-off, tied to delivery
Focused on delivery
Client or grant-led
Products
Evolves with user needs
Driven by market rhythm
Continuous, tied to value
Focused on learning and growth
Team-owned, user-anchored
With a project mindset, every engagement begins from zero. With a product mindset, each release adds to a body of work that grows in value. The result is a steady rhythm of reuse, refinement, and stronger, longer-term customer relationships.
In practice this shift begins when teams:
Frame success around user outcomes, not client deliverables.
Capture and reuse what they build across engagements.
Maintain a roadmap that outlives the current contract.
Why XR needs product thinking
If you work in XR, you will know this pattern. A client funds a proof of concept, your team builds it, it runs as a pilot, and then it stops there. You try to move it forward but the momentum fades. Soon you are chasing the next brief, and the cycle begins again.
These projects generate short-term revenue, but they rarely build momentum. The knowledge, code, and experience you’ve created disappear into the archive instead of building into something scalable.
XR needs more teams adopting a product mindset which is one that connects what you build today to what you’ll grow tomorrow. A product mindset focuses on repeatable outcomes, returning users, and revenue that builds on itself instead of restarting every time. It also leads to better experiences, because they continue to evolve instead of ending the moment they’re delivered.
In practice, adopting a product mindset means three simple truths
Users, developers, and buyers each have different needs, your product must serve all three.
Value is measured by outcomes, not by how many features you ship or how fast you ship them.
Growth comes from reuse, not reinvention.
Here are 2 frameworks that explain how you can achieve an XR product.
Framework 1: Change the Mindset
Changing the mindset comes before changing the process. It is cultural before it becomes operational. It starts with knowing exactly who you serve, why you matter, and how you measure progress.
1. Know your audiences
Most XR products have three:
End users who experience it.
Implementers who integrate it.
Decision-makers who approve it.
If these groups are not connected, your product will struggle to gain traction. The loop between them is your product’s nervous system. It must stay alive through regular feedback and shared wins.
2. Know your market
Be deliberate about where you play. Understand which platforms are growing, which technologies are fading, and how fast adoption is moving. A product mindset keeps one eye on the roadmap and the other on the horizon. It helps you see each decision within a wider context, not just the next contract.
3. Know your use case
Describe the problem you solve in plain language, not technical terms. Then test whether it truly matters to your audience. If your product delivers measurable results on that one problem, that is your proof of traction. Everything else should build from there.
When audience, market, and use case align, your team moves from building what is funded to building what is needed.
Framework 2: Shift the Process
Once the mindset shifts, the mechanics follow. These five habits anchor every product-led XR team I’ve worked with.
1. Maintain a long-term vision
Define a clear product vision and roadmap that connects today’s sprint to tomorrow’s goal. Review it regularly as the market evolves.
2. Establish and measure KPIs
Track the outcomes that prove value: engagement, retention, task completion, or time saved. Avoid vanity metrics. Celebrate progress when real impact appears.
3. Seek continuous feedback
User feedback is not a one-off phase, it’s a continuous loop. Combine surveys, interviews, and analytics. Share what you learn and show how it changes your decisions.
4. Assign dedicated ownership
Give every product a team that owns its success end-to-end. A clear product owner, consistent engineers, and a shared backlog beat a rotating project roster every time.
5. Adapt the scope as you learn
Hold your vision steady, but keep scope flexible. Use agile methods to prioritise what matters most now, not what was imagined six months ago.
These five habits create rhythm. Products evolve naturally, feedback drives focus, and teams build confidence through visible progress.
What this looks like in practice
Leopoly, based in Hungary, shifted from bespoke client work to a reusable platform for 3D creation. By treating every delivery as an investment in the core product, they cut development time by 30–40 per cent and reduced support overheads.
VRAI, a XR data scale-up based in Ireland, found that focusing on one scalable product built around data translation transformed their trajectory. The team moved from juggling projects to growing a repeatable solution trusted by enterprise customers.
Both examples show that when you invest in reuse, you also invest in momentum. They prove that reusable value delivers faster growth than bespoke delivery, which is the essence of the XR product mindset.
The real takeaway
Adopting an XR product mindset is not about abandoning projects. It is about using them as stepping stones toward a product that lasts.
When you measure outcomes instead of outputs, keep feedback flowing, give ownership to focused teams, and adapt scope based on evidence, you move from isolated success stories to a sustainable growth engine.
The goal is not more projects. It is progress that builds over time. Building with an XR product mindset is what turns innovation into lasting impact.
My work focuses on building the foundations of a product mindset so that others are able to build progress on top. If you are ready to make that shift, let’s talk.
Reach out at info@crwburgess.com or book time in my calendar here.
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