Digg It - Business

Much is written in Project Management journals about every conceivable facet of project teams. Topics about their organization, culture, communication with clients, problem solving skills, etc. are virtually endless. There are lots of rules, tips, and suggestions about what they should do but not as much on how to do it.

For example, "high performance work teams" has been a catch phrase for a long time. Everyone wants to create one or think they are a part of o

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ne. But how would a PM actually develop one? If you aren't sure, this will get you started in the right direction.

PREPARE THE PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

Publish the project mission statement with clearly expressed terms of quality, quantity, and time in 25 words or less.

"We will design a document processing workflow that is capable of processing at least 1,500 documents (quantity) daily (time) with no err

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ors (quality)." 25 words or less helps you keep it simple and the project team members focused on the desired outcome.

There should be much greater detail about desired deliverables in the project scope, of course, but a simple and direct summary can be very useful for the daily workings of the team. For example, any decision that a team member may be facing can be simplified by using the mission statement: "If doing task X helps us get closer to processing a minimum of

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

1,500 documents a day with no errors, we should do it. If it doesn't serve the mission, don't do it."

Identify the 3-5 key project-focused tasks for which each member is responsible and also include a team-focused task such as "teamwork".

Publish the few team positions and what you expect from each. For example, team leaders may be responsible for project-focused tasks such as conducting weekly

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

meetings with their sub-teams with minutes kept and distributed; scheduling and tracking work schedules; collecting specific reports weekly, summarizing them, and forwarding to the project manager; resolving conflicts between members or with other sub-teams.

There is also a critical team-focused task simply called "teamwork". Expectations within this may include reliability, cooperation with others, helpfulness, and knowledge sharing. This reminds team members

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

that we have obligations to each other as well as to the client.

Clearly define each team member's key task expectations regarding performance toward project goals with a range of measurable performance levels so they can self-monitor their performance progress.

This takes us back to grade school when we always knew how we were doing before the report cards came out. The teacher had a grading scale ag

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

ainst which we compared the feedback we received from scores on homework, book reports, and tests. This allowed us to self-regulate our performance whether we wanted to make the honor roll or just keep our grades high enough that our parents didn't ground us.

A project team member's expectations may be expressed like this on a 1-5 scale where 5 is most desirable and 1 is least desirable. A 3.0 score is considered "the least acceptable":

"Project team leaders' performance as

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

sessment scale for submitting a project report is:

Accurate, following format, and submitted >1 day early = 5.0
Accurate, following format, and submitted 1 day early = 4.0
Accurate, following format and on time = 3.0
Accurate, following format and less than 1 day late = 2.0
Any combination of errors, not following format, and late any amount = 1.0

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

Clearly define each team member's key task expectations regarding performance toward teamwork goals with a range of measurable performance levels so they can self-monitor their performance progress.

You can use a similar technique for the "teamwork" requirement. Distribute a questionnaire among the team members asking for their opinion on a sliding scale of 1-5 where 1 = "never see this" to 5

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

= "always see this". Include an option of "not observed" for new members who don't feel they have been there long enough to make a fair assessment.

"Please rate your assessment of each team member's behavior in these areas:

Reliability
Cooperation with others
Helpfulness
Knowledge Sharing"

The performance score of an individual team member in these teamwork categories would be th

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

average of the responses from team members for each of the four behaviors above. Again, an average of 3.0 would be the least acceptable score.

A project manager can shift much of the weight of managing the team members from his or her shoulders to those of the team members by putting in place the expectations and a performance assessment system before the project starts. This way, the team members can determine for themselves how they are doing without having to wait to hear it

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

from the PM.

Then conduct assessments (report cards) on a regular schedule during the life of the project. This way, the team members can decide for themselves whether they want to achieve the project's "honor roll" or just get by so the PM doesn't ‘ground them".

PREPARE THE PROJECT MEMBER

There are a few simple things that can prepare the team member to become as effective as possible on your project team. (This assumes, of course, the PM has already determi

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ned they are qualified to become a project team member.)

Each team member should receive a brief measurable and documented orientation.

This gives the PM assurance each member clearly understands the project's mission; the PM's expectations of them; what they can expect from the PM; the performance assessment system; and the frequency of performance assessment periods ("the report card grading period - every six weeks.")

Also, access b

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

adges or any other unique requirements or equipment can be issued at this time.

There should be a project "kick-off" meeting that not only discusses the purpose, nature, and expectations of the project but also a review of the teamwork expectations of each other.

PREPARE THE PROJECT MANAGER

There are at least three things the PM should do as an on-going practice leading the team that are not associated with any

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

specifics of a particular project. These deal with fundamental human motivation and morale.

Make sure you have had this communication with each of your direct reports on the project team on a regular basis. Insist that they do the same with theirs:

You can identify at least two project-related strengths and "opportunities for improvement" (we don't like to hear about our weaknesses) for each direct rep

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

rt and communicate that to them. We like to hear about what we do well so we can keep doing it and what we need to do better so we can be praised.

You can identify two or three non-budgetary rewards that have value for each team member. Then you can give them these rewards when they exceed your expectations. They are getting what they want and you are getting what you want!

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

u and they are in regular agreement (during weekly project meetings is a good opportunity) on the rank order priorities of the top three things they are paid to do. Since priorities may change within a project due to unforeseen circumstances, this will assure you (and them) that they are not wasting time on tasks no longer important.

You have identified to your satisfaction the limits of authority and resp

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

onsibility you would be willing to shift from you to your direct reports and you have told them to remind you if you violate this. The hardest thing about delegation for many project managers is keeping their hands off delegated tasks. Naturally, the PM is ultimately responsible for the project and it is very tempting to take back something delegated if it looks as though the project may be impacted adversely. But if you have

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

done a good job of preparing the project environment and selecting team members, they will be able to deliver the project for you. Remember, as long as they give you the results you want, you don't have to also control how they get the results. Give them a chance to be creative and try doing things a little differently. If they come up with innovations that will save you time and money, don't you get the credit?

You have regular discussions with your

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

direct reports about problems or threats facing the project and asked for their suggestions on dealing with them while sharing your perspective with them. This gives you the opportunity to spot future "high potentials" and allows them a peek at the world through your eyes. Each side can learn something useful about the other and when it comes to problem solving, none of us is as smart as all of us.

Contact me via email for some other suggestions

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.diggit.org.ua/article/20599/diggit-Developing-a-High-Performance-Project-Team.html">Developing a High Performance Project Team</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.diggit.org.ua/article/20599/diggit-Developing-a-High-Performance-Project-Team.html]Developing a High Performance Project Team[/url]

Don't make the common mistake of positioning your brand, product or service in direct competition with other companies. Instead, you should create a new category in order to gain leadership in that space.

This article is for those seeking graphic design information and who are looking for a profitable way to express design talents. Hand painted window advertisements is cutting edge marketing and virtually untapped. The beauty of the business is you do not have to be an artist to produce these amazing billboards.

Most authorities agree that there is room for improvement in business ethics. One of the most problematic questions raised in relation to business ethics is whether or not businesses can become more ethical in the real world.

Tags

Links

Digg It - Developing a High Performance Project Team

Related Articles: