March 25, 2019

6 Project Management Secrets Used by Top Medical Writers

Author: Ashley Self

I bet when you became a medical writer, you didn’t imagine most of your time would be spent on managerial tasks that don’t involve writing at all. According to one prominent medical writing consultant, most medical writers spend 60% of their time on writing and 40% on project management. As you have likely discovered, the skills required of today’s medical writers go beyond subject matter and regulatory expertise. Given the size and scope of most medical writing projects, this is no surprise. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the project management oversight needed for large projects and overlapping projects involving multiple writers, you’re not alone.

2017 Project Management Institute study found most project management initiatives fail for a handful of reasons: 37% fail due to a lack of clearly defined and/or achievable milestones and objectives to measure progress, 19% break down because of poor communication and, similarly, 18% fail due to lack of communication by senior management. While no project can be made absolutely foolproof, seasoned medical writers have learned to rely on advance planning and adherence to certain basic guidelines to ensure their projects run smoothly.

For your next project, once the project liaison has met with stakeholders to nail down the scope and budget, use these six key tactics to ensure your next medical writing job runs smoothly and meets the necessary requirements.

1. Create and stick to a detailed project matrix.

Tempted to throw your project calendar out the window after a series of missed deadlines? Consider using a comprehensive project scope and calendar matrix. The matrix should be the product of a detailed meeting with the project stakeholders and leads on both sides, and highlight who is in charge of what deliverables, who is responsible for signing off on that material, and clear deadlines for each. Each section of the matrix should call out not just final due dates from the writers, but also how long the principals have to review submitted sections and how long it should take to make final revisions. 

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January 11, 2018

[Infographic] Medical Writing Budget Control: 5 Key Questions to Help Manage Your Budget

Regulatory writing and publishing is a critical component in regulatory affairs, and manufacturers must comply with varying regional regulations and increasingly rigorous disclosure and evaluation standards. Companies therefore need good strategies to keep the budget for medical writing in check, while meeting escalating demands, evolving regulations, and unrelenting timelines.

Are you are asking yourself, “How can I get the most out of my project budget?” We can help you answer this. (more…)

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