Process and Ice Cream
My first real paying job was at an ice cream shop. Mastering the art of scooping the perfect cone took several days, but becoming familiar with the process was much faster. It followed a sequence. A customer approached the ice cream counter, inspected the available flavors, sampled a couple, and then, after some deliberation, placed an order, which consisted of these variables: flavor(s), number of scoops, type of cone, and optional topping(s). With just 4 pieces of data, it was easy to assemble a decent looking treat and please the eager customer. Next person, please! Within a week, I had mastered this gig.
Until I found out that the process didn’t always unfold the same way.
It was a gaggle of preschoolers, all jostling to get a closer look at the display case, many of them too short to see anything. Half of them asked me questions while the other half just started ordering their favorite flavor, their excitement evident. They sure were enthusiastic about it, but they were not following the process! But how could they have? There were too many flavors on display, and the little ones couldn’t even read the witty descriptions. The children were as overwhelmed with their choices as I was with their frenzied requests. And the line behind them was spilling out into the street.
I needed to streamline the process for these young customers. After catching the eye of one of the grown-up chaperones, I pitched a suggestion: “One scoop: chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla; in a cup, with a sugar cone ‘hat’ for fun.” She nodded, and then countered: “Two scoops, any flavor but coffee.” We had aligned.
To everyone’s delight, especially, perhaps, the customers that arrived after the preschoolers, the system worked. Within minutes, everyone had their ice cream treat.
That day I learned that no matter how great you or your product are, it’s never a good idea to assume your customers know how to get their desired outcome. It’s your job to guide them through the process. You must be both willing and able to help, and the process needs to be flexible.
In medical writing, whether for a regulatory filing, a journal publication, or a conference presentation, the final product must meet a set of standards. As Michael Claffey points out in his blog, the Acumen team is creating a set of procedures and work instructions to guide our writers and their teams through document development. While these processes focus on regulatory requirements, we build in flexibility by recognizing that projects don’t always follow the same road from raw data to a submission-ready document. Our work instructions highlight common challenges that may delay or complicate document development, underscoring the role of the lead medical writer in guiding and working with the team through these obstacles. Our goal is to help our customers meet their goals by delivering documents of the highest quality, with an extra scoop of their favorite ice cream flavor, whenever possible.
Fernando Venegas
Head of Operations & Quality, Acumen