Empowering Biotech SMEs towards efficient project management

Benefits of embedded analytics for the life sciences industry

Analytics always played a pivotal role in the life sciences industry. Owing to the dynamic and complex nature of drug development and marketing, pharma decision-makers rely heavily on data to decide on the future course of action. According to a Worldwide Health Industry 2020 predictions report, the next decade will be defined by healthcare data and technologies needed to harness themAs more and more data pours in, life sciences need to upgrade their analytics process to reduce manual interventions and adopt continuous real-time analytics. Embedded analytics can help them achieve this with less disruption to the existing systems and enabling the decision makers to spend less time making reports and more on taking decisions. So, what is embedded analytics? And how can it help the life sciences companies? Read on as we give answers to these questions and give more insights on embedded analytics. What is embedded analytics? With embedded analytics, you can embed dashboards, reports, and analytic tools within your applications, solutions or websites. Which means, your team can generate dashboards and charts within the application where the data is stored, without the need to shuffle between two applications. For example, if your organization is using Project Online or Planisware for project portfolio management, you can embed a powerful data visualization tool such as Power BI within Planisware to convert your insights into dashboards and graphs. Switching between applications is a time-consuming and error-prone process that can lead to losing focus and in some cases valuable insights. Embedded analytics makes it easier and more efficient to pull insights and visualize them without moving back and forth. Why Life Sciences Companies Should Consider Embedded analytics? Embedded analytics in any existing software or applications can help various departments in the life sciences company to provide easy access to key metrics. Let us tell you some major benefits of embedded analytics in various departments. Increase the efficiency of clinical trials Clinical trials play a major role in the drug development process, and embedded analytics can help you in making them quicker with reduced costs. Embedded analytics can help companies to constantly monitor key productivity metrics such as participant demographics, historical medical records, and past clinical events data. Such information can help in optimizing the clinical trials process and in identifying test sites with high patient availability. Pharma companies can also speed up the trail by effectively analyzing the patient data from wearables and patient apps producing results in less time. Streamline production with market demand Implementing embedded analytics into the production and inventory software applications can help companies gain insights into seasonal changes in demand, fast-moving drugs, and inventory metrics. Such insights can help production to dedicate more resources onto producing more drugs in demand. Decision makers can now spend more time analyzing dashboards and graphs than creating them. With the time saved in going back and forth between applications, your decision-makers can effectively concentrate on decision-making. Improve decision making Embedded analytics make collaboration within departments easy and convenient, thus helping your decision makers take holistic decisions. Your team leaders can engage better with scientists, drug research teams, government regulators and exchange ideas and information with ease. The visual of the analytical dashboard make information exchange easier, the incoming data can be efficiently converted into dashboards. With embedded analytics, valuable data can be accessed making project outcomes more accurate, and easier to spot patterns in the data. Industry leaders can make decisions on portfolios, supply and demand, and company priorities. Increase customer satisfaction Data-driven decision-making is the first rule for achieving customer satisfaction. However, data-driven decisions are made when the data is front and center, moving from one application to another to access dashboards and data can be tedious and time-consuming. Embedded analytics connects insights and plans of action in the same place, this helps companies to adapt better to the customer needs and incorporate data-backed decisions across the organization. In the fast-moving pharmaceutical and biotech industries, staying ahead of competitors and making the right decisions faster are pivotal. Having an embedded analytical system means saving time moving back and forth between applications, continuous monitoring, saving time in report generation, and less dependency on the IT team. Many of our clients have achieved increased productivity and saved report-generating time with embedded analytics. We have integrated Power BI into Planisware to help US Aramco get comprehensive dashboards within Planisware, you can read more details of it here. References Federico Mayr, and Silvia Piai, “The Future of Intelligence in the Healthcare Sector, IDC FAQsWhat are the primary benefits of embedded analytics in the life sciences industry?In the life sciences industry, embedded analytics provides real-time data insights that improve decision-making, increases user adoption of analytical tools, enhances productivity by integrating data within existing workflows, offers better patient and research outcomes through tailored insights, and supports a data-driven culture across research and development teams.How does embedded analytics improve decision-making in life sciences?Embedded analytics allows life sciences professionals to access real-time data within their workflows, enabling faster and more informed decisions. Researchers, clinicians, and administrators can quickly interpret data trends, patient outcomes, and research results, leading to more timely and effective interventions and innovations.In what ways does embedded analytics enhance productivity for life sciences professionals?By integrating analytics directly into the applications life sciences professionals already use, embedded analytics streamlines workflows, reduces the time spent switching between different tools, and simplifies data access. This integration allows researchers and clinicians to focus on their core tasks while having continuous access to critical data and insights.Can embedded analytics improve patient outcomes and research efficiency? If so, how?Yes, embedded analytics can significantly improve patient outcomes and research efficiency. By providing real-time, actionable insights within existing clinical and research applications, professionals can make quicker, evidence-based decisions. This can lead to more effective treatments, faster research breakthroughs, and optimized resource allocation, ultimately benefiting patients and advancing scientific knowledge.What cost advantages do life sciences organizations gain from using embedded analytics?Life sciences organizations can achieve significant cost savings with embedded analytics by reducing the need for separate business intelligence tools and minimizing training expenses. Integrating analytics within existing systems helps lower licensing fees, reduces the time and effort spent on data extraction and report generation, and streamlines operations, leading to overall lower operational costs and more efficient use of resources.

Executive dashboards for pharmaceutical companies

Executive dashboards transform pharmaceutical decision-making by consolidating critical data into real-time, visual insights across R&D, sales, and operations. These empower leaders with accurate, actionable analytics to streamline workflows, forecast revenue, and accelerate drug development.What is an Executive Dashboard? Executive dashboards are business monitoring tools used to track performance across Research & Development, Commercialization, and Sales & Marketing. They provide a single visual representation of KPIs and critical metrics relevant to business. These dashboards serve as a centralized hub, aggregating data from various departments such as sales, research and development, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, and more. Let us dive deeper into pharma Executive Dashboards Pharma projects are complex and extensive, and each drug may take up to 10-15 years to reach the market. In such a scenario, there would be huge amounts of data to analyze while making crucial decisions such as setting priorities in resource allocations, calculating pre-commercial revenue forecasting, analyzing market trends to design the most profitable commercialization strategies. Manual processes often cause errors and are time-consuming. They may also not have the capacity to retrieve real time data breaking data silos and disparity. Digital solutions tailor-made for specific business needs not only solve data silos and disparity problems, but also save time by reducing manual efforts. Cloud computing ensures scalability, and machine learning enhances forecasting in Pharma Portfolio Dashboards. These dashboards are accessible on various devices and have strong security measures. Customization options cater to specific organizational needs in Pharma market research, fostering insightful analytics. Digitalized Pharma Portfolio Dashboards are the best example of how technology can foster confident data-backed decision-making. How Portfolio Executive Dashboards are helpful in Pharmaceutical Industry? Portfolio Executive Dashboards play an essential role in enabling decision-making within the pharmaceutical industry. These sophisticated solutions provide a consolidated view of critical performance indicators, integrating data from various facets of the business. Pharma Executive Dashboards enable smooth informed decision-making for executives, offering insights into sales metrics, research and development progress, manufacturing efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Pharma executive dashboards serve as real-time visual representations, allowing executives to identify trends, assess risks, and capitalize on opportunities seamlessly. By incorporating pharma market research analytics, these dashboards not only offer retrospective insights but also guide future strategies, ensuring portfolios align with evolving industry trends and customer needs. Types of Pharma Executive Dashboards These executive dashboards leverage data visualization and analytics to provide decision makers with a holistic view of various aspects. Here are some types of executive dashboards used in pharma portfolio analysis: 1. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Dashboard The Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Dashboard streamlines project oversight by offering a snapshot of project status, resource allocation details, risk tracking, financial insights, and an overall health score. This concise executive dashboard facilitates proactive management, ensuring optimal resource utilization and budget adherence. The portfolio health score, derived from key performance indicators, provides a quick assessment of the project portfolio's overall well-being, empowering decision-makers with essential insights for strategic and effective portfolio management. 2. Revenue Forecasting Dashboard The Revenue Forecasting Dashboard is a pivotal tool for strategic decision-making in revenue planning and strategy development by providing real-time sales projections. Through market trends analysis, it integrates competitor insights, market share data, and identifies emerging opportunities or threats, and ensures a focus on sales volume, market penetration, and customer feedback. 3. Clinical Development Dashboard The Clinical Development Dashboard offers insights into trial progress and timelines, providing a detailed overview of milestones and potential delays. Patient recruitment metrics track recruitment, helping to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement. It ensures adherence to regulatory requirements, guaranteeing a robust clinical development process. Safety and adverse event reporting keeps a vigilant eye on trial safety and provides timely monitoring and reporting for effective risk management. 4. Supply Chain Management Dashboard Supply Chain Management Dashboard ensures seamless operations offering real-time insights into inventory levels and guarantees adequate supply to meet demand. Supplier performance is rigorously evaluated, tracking delivery times, product quality, and compliance with regulatory standards. Leveraging historical data and market trends, the demand pharma forecasting feature optimizes product availability, enhancing overall supply chain efficiency. Benefits of Digitalized Executive Dashboards for Pharmaceutical R&D Technology backed executive dashboards offer a myriad of benefits for pharmaceutical Research and Development (R&D) organizations, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and decision-making processes. It includes: A comprehensive and real-time overview of R&D activities, consolidating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as project timelines, resource utilization, and success rates.By centralizing data from various R&D processes, executive dashboards enable decision makers to identify bottlenecks, allocate resources effectively, and streamline workflows. This enhanced visibility facilitates proactive decision-making, allowing organizations to respond swiftly to challenges and capitalize on opportunities.Executive dashboards help in monitoring the progress of clinical trials, ensuring adherence to timelines and regulatory requirements.They enhance collaboration by providing a shared platform for cross-functional teams. This fosters communication and alignment of goals, accelerating the pace of drug development.With an executive dashboard, decision makers can quickly access and analyze a comprehensive view of the entire pharmaceutical portfolio. This expedites the decision-making process as executives can make informed choices based on up-to-date information, reducing delays, and improving overall efficiency.Automation reduces the reliance on manual data entry and manipulation, significantly decreasing the chances of human errors. This ensures that the data presented on the analytics dashboard is accurate and reliable, providing executives with confidence in their decision-making. As a pioneer in pharma data analytics and visualizations, team i2e engineered Clairvoyance- a custom Executive Dashboard Application tailored specifically for the pharmaceutical industry. This application offers a consolidated view of the client’s R&D project portfolio, providing executives with a powerful interactive tool for data-driven decision-making. This custom solution delivers a robust data quality verification platform and offers the analysis and visualization features needed to tackle the various problems the client was experiencing. The Clairvoyance custom dashboard platform can help the R&D leaders to align portfolio performance with their business goals. i2e Consulting helps global pharmaceutical companies to access insights and prepare decision dashboards tailored to their unique business requirements. Embrace the power of Clairvoyance, a cutting-edge decision management solution. Contact us now and seize the future of pharmaceutical innovation by optimizing, strategizing, and thriving with Clairvoyance.

Change management- What is it? and why should project managers understand and own it

Change management is a critical component for organizations and projects undergoing transformations be it process or technological. Not addressing changes can lead to disengagement, decreased productivity, wasted resources, ultimately leading to project delays. A well-structured change management plan enables organizations to navigate change smoothly, minimizing disruptions and increasing the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes. In this blog we will present a change management guide and explain why it is important for project managers to also become change managers with a realistic example. Before knowing how to master change management, lets know more about it. According to the Harvard Business School, “Change Management refers broadly to the actions a business takes to change or adjust a significant component of its organization. This may include company culture, internal processes, underlying technology or infrastructure, corporate hierarchy, or another critical aspect.” (1) If you are a project manager, you may need to play a dual role of the project manager and a change manager. As change management deals with people’s adoption towards the new process or technology, there is no better person a team trusts than the project manager. So, first let’s understand how different change management and project management are, as this will help you to effectively shift gears whenever necessary. Are Project Management and Change Management the Same Thing? Though there are overlaps between project management and change management, they are two different processes as the former deals with what people are doing and the latter is how the people are doing it – and each of them requires separate approaches. So, how different are change management and project management? Let's find out. By treating change management and project management as separate but complementary disciplines, companies can effectively address both the human and technical aspects of organizational initiatives. Change management is often associated with challenges such as resistance to change, unforeseen risks, data standardization, change fatigue etc., So, how can project managers navigate through these challenges and achieve successful change management? Read the next section as we illustrate change management with the help of a real-time example.Change Management Example: Migrating and Adopting Planisware A global organization recognized the necessity of transitioning its fragmented Project management systems, including Microsoft Project, Smartsheet and Excel, to a unified platform such as Planisware. This is a huge change that the company planned to go with a big-bang approach rather than opting for a pilot project first. Navigating such a change to new technology presents challenges. A robust plan and effective change management by the project managers is required to ensure a smooth transition. Let's begin by looking at the organization’s key objectives the company was looking to achieve with this change. Achieve one tool approach: Different project groups were using both MS Project and Smartsheet. These users loved their tools; however, each project manager utilized them in their own way, with their own tricks and without harmonization in how the data was being collected, structured, and shared. Reports were ad-hoc and as-needed. The MS Project users didn't coordinate with the Smartsheet users, even though some of the same takes and milestones were represented in each. The company aimed to bring all the projects under Planisware and achieve data synergy between teams.Increase data timeliness: Organization wanted to streamline data collection and reporting processes with the help of advanced capabilities of Planisware. They also aimed to reduce the time required to gather and analyze data, ensuring that decision-makers had access to timely and relevant information. Break down silos: Planisware will also foster collaboration and alignment between teams. So, the organization sought to break down silos and promote knowledge sharing. They also wanted to have enhanced visibility into resource allocation and project milestones would facilitate cross-team synergies and alignment with global planning objectives.AI integration: They wanted to get data ready for AI use by centralizing all project data in one repository and standardizing data. Thus, enabling the organization to leverage AI generated advanced analytics for decision-making and forecasting.Resource management: They also wanted to centralize processes for resource management by replacing the offline method. The agenda behind doing this was to enhance visibility, facilitate collaboration and align with global planning objectives. Now let's see how a change management plan can be made for this scenario. Change Management Best Practices for Project Managers In the above example, the company may engage a technology partner to implement Planisware. This partner will take care of the implementation and drive change management. However, there are some crucial aspects where project managers need to switch roles and become change managers as well. Let's explore more of these aspects. Executive push to use data: It is imperative to start including Planisware in the day-to-day activities of the project management. Coach the team members to let go of the previous practices and get data from Planisware only. If there are discrepancies in the data, instruct the team on how to fix them.Practice data driven decision making: Establish data quality control mechanisms to make sure the data is of high quality. Communicate to your team with evidence of how the decision makers are using the data for decision-making, and how the data quality is getting reflected in the reports.Communicate improvements: Gather statistics which can be used to quantitatively show improvement after the change. e.g., number of hours spent on each annual operating cycle, resource utilization, number of projects' gate reviews performed per quarter.Include in the bigger picture: Communicate to the highest-level executive to include updates on the implementation project in all-hands meetings, so that end-users realize that this project is a big deal, and their annoyances are a part of a corporate improvement.Strive to provide material value to your team: Project managers should meticulously plan and work with the Planisware implementation partner to provide material value to each end-user, be it a specific report that will address a challenge or building RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to save them time. For example, building templates for roadmaps for the project managers, so that you can have a one-button operation to output their Gantts into 'pretty' views which can be shared throughout the organization.Meticulous data migration: Rather than lifting-and-shifting all pre-existing data, have the users re-created it in the new tool with the new processes (especially if there are any material changes to the processes, such as new templates, new resource structures, new levels of details expected in their planning). While this seems tedious and users will have some resistance, it is the best form of training and will ensure that they are bought in to the data that is in the new tool (instead of an automated migration process resulting in data that they own but don't trust).Build a data dictionary/glossary: Work with the implementation partner and other stake holders to ensure harmonization or alignment of terms. For instance, in the pharma world, "FPI" sometimes means first subject screened and other teams means first patient first dose. If your organization grew via acquisition, different team members may have different interpretations of the same thing and a data glossary can help establish harmonization.Define resource management terms: Make sure the crucial metrics pertaining to resource management are defined before implementing the module. For example, when the definition of FTE is not clear, then, it’s impact is seen when a report says, "2 FTE are needed for this time period" does it mean that you need 2 humans, or does it mean you need more people because of vacation and trainings and other overhead; can it mean 4 humans working halftime each is ok? etc. And how will finance monetize the estimate for their budget reporting.Identify change agents: Find and enlist change agents, these can be your biggest supporters, but it can also be those most resistant to the change. Maybe it's the admin from the old tool, who is subconsciously fearful for their job. By having them included in the implementation, they can see the value and possibility. Make sure the change agents receive more communication about the change, and be involved in some decision making, so that they are better equipped to support their teams.Setup one functionality at a time: Start implementing Planisware module by module within your team, so you can hold their hand and give them the attention that they need. Similarly, roll out project by project and not a big-bang approach.Conduct “What’s in it for me” training: As a trusted source for your team, the project managers should highlight the benefits of the new tool and process. This requires digging deep into existing ways of working and finding frustrations that people are used to. For example: MS Project has a limited number of baselines. Or double entry was required from a CTMS tool into MS Project (and triple entry then into a reporting tool). Communicate and demonstrate how Planisware can effectively solve this.Prioritize ongoing training: Make sure along with initial training, your team also gets ongoing launch & learn sessions for continued training. Include advanced tips and tricks beyond what is included in the standard training, quick reference guides, like FAQs, are best to support the end users effectively. Introducing a new tool or a process comes with a promise of enhancing the existing processes and eliminating challenges; however, to reap the benefits, change management should be done effectively. Engaging a technology partner for the Planisware implementation makes it smooth and 100% fool proof. At the same time, it is equally important to appoint an experienced team to help with the change management both from the perspective of the tool and the people involved. i2e Consulting has over a decade of experience in PPM and Planisware. We have successfully configured Planisware and aligned the tool to their specific requirements and workflows. Our team also worked closely with the Planisware team and the stakeholders to help with the change management aspect. References 5 critical steps in the change management process; Business Insights; Havard Business School Online