Medical device, drug and vaccine creation are arguably some of the most important technological advancements that have happened over the last century. Each of these are highly anticipated by the company, patients and medical professionals alike. These developments are made possible by the scientists and companies dedicated to solving global health problems and enhancing people’s lives. Behind the scenes, and behind the science, is a team devoted to ensuring that these intricate and complex projects are running smoothly and securely.
In today’s world, science is a business. In biotechnology (biotech), medical device technology (medtech) and pharmaceutical (pharma), science is a vital, sometimes life-changing business and managing complex medical projects becomes an integral part of the process. Like every business, these projects have the same complex requirements, aggressive deadlines, ambitious bottom lines, razor thin budget constraints, hidden risks, as well as internal and external stakeholder demands. All of these components can heighten the risk of not delivering on-time. Missing milestones or underdelivering can have serious consequences.
Sanofi reduced communication obstacles between scientists and stakeholders for increased project velocity and accelerated go-to-trial times. Download case study.
From Lab to Launch, and the Impediments to Delivery
Unlike a lot of technology, biotech, medtech and pharma projects often take years, not months, to complete and go through a myriad of key stages before they hit the healthcare supply chain. The main stages of any biotech, medtech and pharma product launch are R&D, quality management, product launch and manufacturing. Any glitch along these respective paths can put not only that stage, but future stages in jeopardy.
Across these stages, they have numerous stakeholders, with varying priorities and requirements to accomplish a successful product launch. In order for a product to deliver successfully in each stage, it is critical to create an environment of transparency and accountability across all members of the project team. From scientists or engineers to stakeholders, maintaining project health is everyone’s priority but all members of the project must be in alignment and the vision must be clear or milestones can be missed, causing budgets to soar and customer satisfaction to drop.
However, in the realm of medical device and drug advancement there can be an unintended but inevitable disconnect between teams and stakeholders. Stakeholders usually work outside the lab environment, which can result in inadvertent lack of project communication. Conversely, researchers, scientists and engineers can struggle to understand the goals set by stakeholders and what the greater plan and strategy is, which is critical for them to move forward. They can continually perform work that gets in proximity to the master plan, but it can be problematic to track the alignment with the right people at the right time. Another key issue that these industries run into involves how information and communications are collected and documented.
Digital transformation is imperative for success in today’s market. If an organization has not implemented a digital work and project management solution that aligns teams and stakeholders from anywhere, at anytime, and updates crucial components in real-time, and in one place, it leaves projects open to elevated risks.
Real-Time Connection and Management Through Work and Project Management Solutions
With so many factors working against on-time, or even accelerated, delivery, how can these industries meet the disruptions, demands and challenges that come with them?
There are several proven benefits that enterprises attain when implementing a comprehensive work and project management solution that leads to an accelerated time to market.
1. Connect stakeholders and teams
Connecting teams and projects to each other helps elevate the work to new levels. When each individual is on the same page, collaboration and problem solving becomes easier, more efficient and effective. The 360 view that work and project management solutions can deliver allows users to see the entire picture as it is painted, instead of small, quickly changing snippets
2. Operate with accurate, updated information
Many organizations still rely on spreadsheets to document research, designs, findings, analytics, timelines and more. However, often times these organizations experience ongoing problems in this approach as a result of people missing data, using outdated data and accessing the wrong spreadsheets. By implementing a real-time work and project management solution, enterprises can enable organization-wide access to up to date, accurate data and teams can track up-to-the-minute progress for enhanced transparency and accountability.
3. Interconnect methodologies for ideal workflows and processes
Enterprises rarely use one set methodology or process across the organization. Each department often has its own way of doing things and as projects transfer it is important that the work and project management solution being used translates and adapts the project to their way of working, instead of forcing departments to update their processes to fit the application. This translation helps to ensure that information and time isn’t loss as it moves from one milestone to the next.
4. Manage resources and timelines using precise, up-to-date availability
In order to be successful and meet timelines, resources must have the right amount of work. Too much and they are strained, leading to possible mistakes, missed deadlines and/or exhaustion. Too little and they could become bored and unfulfilled. With constant changes it can be hard to assign projects to the right resources. The easiest way to solve this is to implement a comprehensive work and project management solution that provides visibility into the current workload of every user so that resources can be easily assigned or moved as needed. Teams don’t need to take on more work than they can handle and stakeholders can breathe easy knowing that timelines are on track and their resources are not over or underwhelmed.
5. Identify risks before they become problems
When all of these elements come together digitally, risk surveillance becomes easier and risk themselves become more detectable. The ability to identify and solve for risks as early as possible is crucial to proactive project management. In any large-scale project risks loom around every corner. In biotech, medtech and pharma projects, these risks can be heightened by the nature of how these teams must work. Implementing a system that allows stages, people and data to connect globally and in real-time, allows for users to gauge where data gaps could cause challenges or project risks could cause delays.
Transform Your Organization and Achieve a Comprehensive 360 View for Optimal Project Velocity
Transforming work and project management to better address disruptions, risks and other factors is most effective when done proactively. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer to enterprise project management, there are solutions that work with organizations to optimize their workflows and methodologies, as well as enhance connection and collaboration between users.
Leankor is an easy-to-use enterprise work and project management SaaS solution designed to help biotech, medtech and pharma enterprises solve the challenges that come along with complex, large-scale projects. It is a comprehensive solution that streamlines organizational workflows and processes through real-time, proactive management and collaboration. Leankor transforms antiquated, disparate processes into streamlined workflows for ultimate project velocity.
Leankor’s real-time functionality mitigates risks by always using the most up-to-date information and communication. Stakeholders can empower themselves with advanced reporting, gaining in-depth insight into project progress and financials. Users in the lab can manage their work in a more focused, thoughtful way. Scientists, researchers and engineers can methodically assess which items they needed to focus on and they are able to change strategic direction quickly when needed. It has the unique flexibility to interconnect work methodologies and translate work styles and project methodologies. Individuals can easily monitor performance milestones and track their own personal workload in the “My Work” dashboard. This ease of access to information creates a more effective environment, helping an organization readapt teams and their work, as well as being flexible to change as needs change.
Leankor is natively built on the platform as a service (PaaS) market leader Salesforce. Using Salesforce, Leankor can digitally interconnect everything a company needs for a complete 360 customer-centric view. Organizations can expand using Salesforce applications to create enterprise functionality with unmatched results. These extensions allow for real-time collaboration and connection, accurate and up-to-date data, powerful applications for analytics and the flexibility to easily scale and to work from anywhere, at any time. The combination also helps teams to expand into the community, looping in external collaborators like vendors and Universities without difficulty.
While the scientific process itself cannot be rushed, the project management obstacles that increase cost and impede success can be mitigated. With the right project and work management solution companies can reduce risk, empower workers to do more, increase project velocity and accelerate delivery. In biotech, medtech and pharma, this doesn’t just impact the organization, it impacts the entire world.
To learn more about increasing your project velocity, contact Leankor.
