Innovations in Project Operations

Research specialists are always looking to evolve. Words such as ‘innovation’ and ‘digital’ come to mind.

Those in project operations are keen to keep up and progress with the times. It is no longer the job itself.  Having the opportunity to develop and improve skills, showcase and voice their ideas whilst working at a company that offers new concepts and services are key elements when searching for a new role.

So how advanced has operation functions become since my last role in Project and Operations Management? I recently had a group of operations experts share some of their latest practices which have made an impact in their day to day tasks.

Assigning a “first come, first serve” booking system using group e-shots; and multi-agency allocations are prevalent. An upsurge of online screening is also noticeable.

With the increase in automated systems, project managers have more time to focus on people engagement and relationship. There is also more emphasis on quality and efficiency assessment.

In addition, there is a keenness to learn and prepare for when the General Data Protection Regulation comes into place in 2018.

There are exciting times ahead for research operations. I cannot wait to see new ideas that will evolve from the next generation of project managers, client services, programmers, data processors, and others who work in the data collection sector.