Agile Approaches in Pharma: A Journey of Exploration, Experimentation & Contextualization
Kamil Mroz
Program Management Lead, Gene Therapy
UCB
About the Presentation
Sprints, Scrums, user stories, Kanban, product backlogs… what’s all the hype about? Agile has recently stolen the spotlight and is the “talk of the town” in professional project management associations. However, it can sometimes be hard to pin-down in its practical application in the pharmaceutical sector, and it is often reduced to a buzzword implying the need to stay nimble in the face of uncertain conditions. As such this presentation will focus on our journey of exploration, experimentation, and contextualization of Agile approaches within the pharmaceutical sector. It will highlight key lessons learned, and key challenges that pharma project managers might face while trying to implement Agile approaches.
Additionally, it will explore insights gathered at the UCB and PMI Agile hackathon in 2022; where several pharmaceutical companies tried to “hack” Agile, in order to better understand where and how to concretely apply Agile practices in drug development.
Key Takeaways
- Understand key constraints that pharmaceutical project managers operate in when developing a medicinal product.
- Learn about key limitations with prescriptive Agile approaches, and the importance of contextualizing these approaches.
- Recognize the importance of embracing hybrid approaches and open-mindedness.
- Gain insight from lessons learned in applying Agile in a non-IT/software project environment.
About Kamil Mroz
Kamil is an experienced Program Management Lead, currently working for UCB Pharma. Prior to joining UCB, he has worked with GSK, NNE Pharmaplan, and ran his own PM consulting company in Belgium. Kamil is known as an active volunteer within the global PM community, and regularly speaks at PM conferences, authors publications, and enthusiastically shares his experience with the next generation of PMs. In 2020, Kamil was recognized by PMI as a PMI Future 50 honoree; a group of leaders who are transforming the workplace through collaboration, inclusion, and purpose.
Over the last 10 years, Kamil has been recognized for outstanding project management excellence and more recently, has become a Disciplined Agile Coach (DAC) to help unlock the potential of Agile approaches in the pharmaceutical sector. In 2022, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) recognized Kamil as their “Agile Leader of the Year” for his leadership, while bringing an Agile virtue into the pharmaceutical environment.
Kamil holds a double bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and biochemistry (conc.) from the University of Ottawa, and a master’s degree from the University of Kent. He is currently pursuing a part-time PhD in management at HEC Liège, exploring the effects of project management capabilities in the pharmaceutical sector, and the interconnection between strategy, innovation, and operations. Additionally, he holds the following certifications: PMP, MSP, MoV, MoR, ITIL, P3O, MoP, Agile Scrum (Exin), BSC, EFQM, SIP, PRINCE2, PMI-ACP, DASSM & DAC.
