"Kanban is neither a project management technique nor a software development lifecycle approach.
There must already be some procedure to apply Kanban to alter the underlying process gradually." David J. Anderson
The pharmaceutical sector is crucial to the economy's employment and stability. However,
it is constantly up against difficulties that call into doubt the viability of numerous laboratories. Every organization's existence and structure are still under pressure to alter and evolve.
Change is becoming more prevalent than ever following waves of industrial competition, technological advancements, client tastes, an increase in commodities costs, and the novel coronavirus in the recent year. Organizations are turning to agile methods of change management implementation to keep up with this quick and increased intensity of change.
Agile methods of delivering change frequently result in outcomes being attained more quickly and perhaps with fewer resources than before.
Very few organizations are not hopping on the agile bandwagon in light of these promises. However, the implementation of agile in the pharmaceutical industry is faced with some problems.
What, then, are the challenges of using agile in pharma?
- Not all change scenarios may be suitable for agile change: Agile approaches to change management may be excellent when we produce a new product,
a technical solution, a new process, or a unique working style. - Implementing agile changes in pharmaceutical firms has considerable capability needs: Using agile approaches outside the project team is also part of implementing agile improvements.
Each team participating must be able to develop agile skills. - The agile methodology does not explicitly outline elements of change management: The many members of the agile team,
such as the laboratory manager, business owner, researchers, quality control, etc., are explicitly defined in the agile project management methodology. - More than ever, oversight of numerous agile changes is essential: Utilizing an agile method has its challenges,
one of which is the often lack of clarity at the beginning of the process regarding the final result or solution of the change.
How can you assist your business stakeholders in navigating the constantly changing and disruptive environment?
What digital technologies are you using to prepare for increasingly agile developments in this digital age?
Leveraging kanban to overcome the challenges of agile pharma implementation is essential for success,
just like the agile philosophy of including and integrating many disciplines to enhance collaboration.
Now what is kanban and how can it be used to address the challenges of agile pharma implementation?
The Kanban method (Translated to software by David J. Anderson) is a strategy for firms to change their processes and systems over time gradually.
Its central mechanism is a work-in-progress limited pull system, which encourages collaboration to fix system operation (or process) issues proactively.
The method is called after this well-known work-in-progress type, the little pull system known as the Kanban system, which is one example of such a pull system.
What are the Kanban fundamentals?
Four fundamental ideas form the foundation of the Kanban approach:
- The Kanban technique encourages ongoing, gradual, and evolutionary changes to your system by starting with the roles and processes you already use.
- The team (or organization) must accept that system improvements can only be made and sustained through continual, gradual, and evolutionary modification. Wide-ranging reforms may appear more successful, but they are less likely to succeed because of opposition and fear within the company. The Kanban approach promotes ongoing, minor, gradual, and evolutionary modifications to your current system.
- By respecting current roles, duties, and job titles, we can allay initial worries and promote future change. We should be able to broaden the support for our Kanban program due to this.
- Promoting leadership behavior at all organizational levels, from individual contributors to senior management, is essential.
Kanban's five fundamental principles
David Anderson noted five fundamental characteristics in every successful implementation of the Kanban approach.
They have then renamed practices and made them longer by including a sixth.
- VisualizeUnderstanding how work is done requires being able to visualize and make the flow of the task apparent.
Making the appropriate improvements is more challenging when you don't comprehend the workflow. - Limit Work in ProgressLimiting work-in-progress implies that all or a portion of the workflow is pulled.
The pull system is one of the primary cues for modifying your system. - Control the job process
Workflow flow through each state should be tracked, measured, and reported.
The system's continual, gradual, and evolutionary changes can be actively managed to determine whether they have a beneficial or negative impact on the system. - Clearly state process policies
Establish your standards and norms for your work. Make sure everyone complies with these guidelines and understands your needs.
When and why a ticket is changed from one column to another will be specified in the policies. Change the rules as the working conditions evolve. - Use models to spot areas for improvement
Teams are more likely to be able to develop a shared understanding of a problem and identify improvement activities that may be accepted
by agreement when they have a shared understanding of ideas about work, workflow, process, and risk.
Pharma Utilizing Kanban in Agile Implementation
Overproduction can be successfully eliminated with Kanban. Kanban is essentially a way to take control of every stage of production by identifying all needs from every production-related area. This keeps the show running smoothly, enabling the procedure to proceed effectively.
According to David Anderson, author of Kanban – Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business, Kanban has five essential characteristics. It first visualizes the workflow. Kanban, "signboard" in Japanese, identifies and makes the workflow visible by listing all processes and their current demands. By being able to immediately "see" when an order has been placed, when production should begin, and whether all steps of production are clear and prepared, the project manager can handle demands as soon as they arise.
It also restricts work-in-progress (WIP). The pull system of a process' essential component is Kanban. With a pull system, production only gets going when there is a need or an order. This approach eliminates waste, and all the energy and raw resources are used for the specific project or order.
Third, it controls the flow. It guarantees that the work is tracked, measured, and recorded as it moves through each stage and component of the workflow. It enables management to discover potential upgrades efficiently and continuously improve the system. Fourthly, it explicitly states the process policies. Because all relevant information is documented, the "visibility" gained by Kanban enables managers and staff to discuss new explicit policies, enabling them to comprehend them better and implement improvements using a more logical approach.
Finally, it enables group improvement. Kaizen, or the process of finding and implementing small but real enhancements that lead to evolutionary changes, is encouraged by Kanban.
Effective implementation led to the development of these characteristics. On the other hand, effective implementation can first be accomplished through training.
This approach if properly used will overcome the challenges posed by agile implementation in the pharmaceutical industry.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_(development)
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kanban.asp
- MacKerron, G., Kumar, M., Kumar, V. (2014). A Case Study on E-Kanban Implementation: A Framework for Successful Implementation.
In: Ramanathan, U., Ramanathan, R. (eds) Supply Chain Strategies, Issues and Models. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5352-8_5 - Christopher, M. and Holweg, M. (2011), "“Supply Chain 2.0”: managing supply chains in the era of turbulence",
International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 63-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600031111101439