Pharma Voice

Ten guaranteed ways for project success

The clinical trial industry is on an upswing, but the road to success can be a slippery slope. S Lakshmanan outlines ten ways to guarantee success

Target Focus

The focus should be in three primary areas - Quality, Timelines and Budget. The quality of the project should not be compromised at all at any stage because this tells clients about the talent of the project team and reliability of the company. Timelines should be agreed with all stake holders such as client, team members and management and once it is agreed, it should be followed sincerely. Budget when allocated should take care of sufficient contingency which may arise due to economic fluctuations such as the value of one's national currency in global market.

Authority

It should be given to project managers whether it is to procure enough resources for the project or it is to alter team strength. Accurate line of authority control with role and responsibility of each team member should be agreed and documented at the first stage itself. The reporting of team members should be routed through appropriate channels.

Big picture of the project

The big picture of the project should be revealed to team members so that they are well aware about the pros and cons of the project. In this context, it is appropriate to recall Mahatma Gandhi's saying that all work should have the primary objective to benefit the common man. A status update is not only necessary for the client and management but also for the team members which will bring them satisfaction for the work they have accomplished.

Adequate time

Timelines should be allocated while fixing the deadline for the project after getting proper inputs from all team members. This is very crucial because if the managers decide their own deadline without proper consultation with team members, it will finally land them in trouble when they find that the project is incomplete and ultimately, lose the client's trust.

Project Accountability:

The team is responsible for whatsoever it receives, whether it is a gentle pat on the back or a brickbat. The ownership of the project will make the team members feel they are important in the project and at the same time, it brings alertness since they are aware that if they have made mistakes in the project, the consequences will affect them,.

Transparent communication

The communication with respect to the project must be very transparent and there should be no communication gap allowed at any stage. It starts from the top brass and ends with the bottom level team assistant. It should be bidirectional so that everybody in the team is aware about the project's development. Most of the problems arise due to the lack of proper communication.

First things first

The project manager should emphasize this fact frequently to all team members and keep on briefing them about the priorities of the project. Parallel way of working will save significant time which can be utilised for some other useful purposes.

Lessons learnt

Lessons learnt during the project should be emphasized so that mistakes won't be repeated in future projects, thus saving management's financial resources and team members' time. To err is human but repeating errors should not be accepted at any cost. The project team should document the lessons learnt during each project and it can be exchanged between teams conducting projects of the same nature.

Professional way of working

The management should educate the project team that they should be professional while working on the project and there is no room for personal ego clashes. Ultimately human relations amongst team members should not be spoiled, which can be highly contagious and may spread to other teams as well. The team spirit should always be high and it is the responsibility of the project head to ensure that it is kept so.

Have confidence in the team

Once the project is explained clearly to all team members, the manager should not intervene unless there is an issue. Obviously all team members are humans and not machines. Flexibility can be given to team members depending upon their talent and seniority. On many occasions, we find that some team members will be working slowly at week ends or sometimes, they take extra time during their coffee break. Management should not make such small issues a cause for concern.

(The author is Manager-Regulatory Affairs with PharmaLeaf India Private Limited. He can be contacted at pharmacylaks@rediffmail.com)