06 Apr

Remediated Patient Relationship Management System

Abby Grable Case Studies, Change Management, Post-Go Live Support, Quality IT

Remediated Patient Relationship Management System

A commercial pharmaceutical’s Patient Relationship Management (PRM) system was unreliable and required manual data tracking, causing many inefficiencies. Moreover, inconsistent data reporting due to the absence of a central source of truth exacerbated the problem.

Through remediation efforts, PrO streamlined processes, scaled the critical system and enhanced system reliability for smoother operations.

What We Did

Strategic Approach

We adopted a strategic approach, meticulously defining business processes to pinpoint technical solutions. A series of extensive implementations were undertaken to rectify the system’s shortcomings on a large scale. Efforts were made to refine the platform, ensuring enhanced usability for all stakeholders involved.

Structured Framework

A structured framework of bi-weekly system releases was established, which facilitated the seamless integration of continuous improvements and enhancements into the system. Our concerted efforts elevated performance, user experience and cultivated a culture of continuous innovation and refinement, resonating with lasting impact.

Successfully Launched New Product

As a result, the enhanced system enabled a successful new product launch. Due to the enhanced confidence in the revised platform, system use expanded beyond PT SVCs to include the field team. Lastly, the system effectively escalated, approved, and delivered an urgent product shipment within a remarkably short timeframe, measured in hours rather than days.

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Processes Improved
To increase contact center effectiveness and efficiency
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 System Releases Completed
Completed over a two-year period to deliver substantial and incremental system improvements
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Enhancements Implemented
To improve system functionality and workflow
06 Apr

Quadrupled # of IT Projects Completed Within One Year

Abby Grable Case Studies, Change Management, Enterprise IT, IT PMO, IT Strategy

Quadrupled # of IT Projects Completed Within One Year

An early-stage biotech client was struggling to understand, organize, and deliver critical IT initiatives. As a result, IT was reactive to the needs of its stakeholders, who were extremely dissatisfied.

Understanding the value of project management processes and project governance, our client asked us to help assess and organize the work and devise simple yet impactful changes to ensure the work got done.

What We Did

1. Assessed The Work

We scheduled interviews with IT leaders to understand what they were working on, including responding to and resolving tickets, modifying existing systems, and implementing new systems, and we captured all salient details. During the course of these interviews, we started to obtain a sense that IT was working on a mix of steady-state and temporary initiatives.

2. Organized The Work

Then, we sought to organize the work—to do so, we introduced the idea of a project (an initiative with a defined start and end date intended to achieve a specific set of goals) and we placed those projects onto a Gantt chart. We then shared that Gantt with each IT lead to help them track the most critical and visible items their teams were working on.

3. Rolled Out Basic Project Management Framework

To ensure the work got done, we devised and rolled out a basic project management framework, including a stage gate, to evaluate and prioritize new initiatives. In doing so, we set basic expectations of what constitutes a project, how projects should be managed, and how project updates should be communicated. In addition, we created and introduced several basic tools and templates that project managers used to capture project scope and objectives, kick off projects, and dashboards.

Client Results

Leveraging tailored PrO PMO processes and tools, our client increased their project delivery rate from 18% to 79% in just one year. This transformation provided leadership and stakeholders with better visibility into IT priorities and ensured critical initiatives were completed as promised.
IT Projects Completed in 1st Year
79%
IT Projects Completed in 2nd Year
92%
IT Projects Completed in 3rd Year
94%
IT Projects Completed in 3rd Year
98%
06 Apr

Implemented Right-Sized IT PMO to Fuel Early-Stage Biotech

Abby Grable Case Studies, Change Management, Enterprise IT, IT PMO, IT Strategy

Implemented Right-Sized IT PMO to Fuel Early-Stage Biotech

Our client had recently been hired into his role as VP of IT at a very early stage, pre-commercial biotech company. In fact, this organization was so early stage that our client was tasked with building the IT organization from the ground up. Based on his previous experience, he knew that he would need to establish the basic processes needed to ensure his team understood the business’ needs and met those needs in a timely manner.  

To help him achieve this goal, we established foundational concepts and processes to help build the IT team, help the IT team identify its highest-priority initiatives, and report on the progress of those initiatives to senior leadership. In doing so, we helped our client build and organize his own department, prove the effectiveness of his team, and ultimately meet the organizational expectations set upon him.

1. Clarified Basic Project Management Processes & Expectations

Given that this organization was still a startup, we needed to establish core, foundational processes to help the IT team identify and complete important IT initiatives. To start, we defined the concept of a project, rolled out basic project management training materials, and instituted basic tools to enable project managers to communicate project progress, as well as key risks and issues.

2. Extended Hands-on Support to Project Managers & Project Teams

To reinforce the processes and expectations established, we followed up with project managers on a weekly basis, as needed, to ask questions about their project management artifacts to ensure adherence and adoption. In doing so, we were able to coach and advise project managers, helping them to improve their skillset and ensuring that project progress was being reported accurately and consistently across the board.

3. Developed Executive-Level Portfolio Summaries

We developed a portfolio Gantt and sent it to senior leadership monthly to show progress against planned projects. 

Additionally, we developed a more detailed deep dive deck for the most critical organizational projects to ensure senior leadership had ample information about the deliverables, progress, and risks and issues encountered for each of these projects. 

Through these efforts, we helped to proactively demonstrate the productivity of the IT team and, ultimately, showcased our client’s ability to establish and manage a highly effective IT team.

Client Results

As a result, our client showcased their IT team’s effectiveness and secured leadership’s confidence by completing 82% of projects and adhering to their budget for the year
IT Projects Completed in 1st Year
82%
06 Apr

Resolved Budget Overrun by Implementing Cost Management Processes and Tools

admin Case Studies, Change Management, Enterprise IT, IT PMO, IT Strategy

Resolved Budget Overrun by Implementing Cost Management Processes and Tools

One of our commercial pharma clients did not have practices in place to monitor and manage their budget throughout the year. After overspending their approved budget by 7% one year, the VP of IT recognized the need for a structured cost management system for the organization, so he sought our expertise to develop and roll out a cost management processes and tools to get his IT budget back on track.

What We Did

1. Assessed Existing Budget Practices 

We reviewed IT’s existing annual budget and spend processes and identified gaps in regular monitoring, controlling, correcting, and reforecasting. We also conducted sessions with each IT leader to understand their budgeting challenges and requirements and found that IT team members were self-managing their budgets without a unified process to coordinate with Finance tor tracking actuals and communicating changes throughout the year.
 

2. Developed Cost Management Processes and Tools

We improved their annual budgeting process and developed a number of additional tools to help them monitor and reforecast throughout the year, such as: 

  • A budget change request mechanism 
  • A quarterly budget reforecast tool and cadence to provide more accurate projections throughout the year and allow the team to pivot or change plans if necessary 
  • Budget creation spreadsheet 
  • Comprehensive deck consolidating all budget data that included project charters with each project tied to specific budget line items 
  • PO tracking spreadsheet to monitor actual spending against the budget

3. Rolled Out the Cost Management Process and Trained the Team

Lastly, we rolled out the new cost management process and trained team members on how to leverage the budgeting tools. To ensure budget adherence, we established operational governance and even conducted regular meetings with Finance. These mechanisms allowed IT to course correct in real time and ultimately stay within their overall annual budget.

Client Results

By implementing comprehensive cost management processes and tools and engaging all key stakeholders throughout the implementation to ensure their buy-in, we eliminated our client’s cost-overrun and helped them come in 4% under budget the following year.

From 7% Over Budget

To 4% Under Budget

06 Apr

Effectively Managed UAT to Ensure On-Time Go-Live of ERP

Abby Grable Case Studies, Enterprise IT, Testing/Validation

Effectively Managed UAT to Ensure On-Time Go-Live of ERP

Our client was undertaking a critical, highly visible project to implement SAP S4 Hana ERP platform and needed help managing UAT to ensure the system could go live on time.

In order to ensure this was possible, we established an entire UAT workstream with the infrastructure needed to effectively complete testing and resolve defects in a timely manner, all while working 100% remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What We Did

1. Implemented Testing Workstream Structure & Governance

We developed a testing kickoff deck and leveraged it to align all parties on the testing goals, timeline, and roles and responsibilities. Post-kickoff, we scheduled twice-daily standups to ensure all testers and developers were working in lock-step, advising on issues, seeking to understand defects, and discussing all pertinent topics in real-time. Additionally, we created a detailed testing tracker to facilitate accurate and timely testing progress.

2. Actively Managed Testing & Provided Support to Testers

In addition to the structure and governance we implemented, we trained all testers on the use of Jira for test management. Given that this tool was new for most testers, we also provided real-time support via a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel and ad hoc working sessions.

Since testing took place fully remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these communications channels were critical to ensure testing progressed as expected each day. Additionally, we collaborated with internal and external SOx auditors to review testing documentation to ensure compliance for all of UAT.

3. Meticulously Tracked Testing Efforts & Reported on Testing Status

We leveraged our detailed testing tracker to communicate testing progress and overall testing status to project leadership on a daily basis. Accordingly, all parties were well-informed as to how testing was progressing, and leadership was able to help drive completion of critical issues and decisions as needed.

Client Results

Over the course of just three weeks, we facilitated the completion of 289 test scripts and drove resolution of 108 defects, enabling the system to go live on time!
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Test Scripts Completed
0
Defects Resolved
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