Case Study - GSK - TheScrumMaster.co.uk

A significant trend from 2018 onwards across the globe was the desire of large Pharmaceutical companies to become more Agile. This included companies such as Roche, GSK and Novartis who invested heavily in training for their people to help them better manage the complex work they carried out.

TheScrumMaster.co.uk worked with all of these organisations. For GSK, we provided a mix of private and public courses.

I attended Simon’s class to obtain the Professional Scrum Master certification. Similar to many, I had no background in the Scrum framework, but Simon eased us into this new concept with practical advice and scenarios that are relatable to your own field of work. The delivery of the class was excellent, very organised, and helped in making new connections. I am sure we will cross paths again in my Scrum journey.

Simon led an excellent 2-day PSM 1 (Professional Scrum Master 1) course in our offices for ~14 people and was knowledgeable, professional and always helpful. Thank you Simon!

Simon’s PSM I class was informative and enjoyable and helped me consolidate some learnings and successfully pass the PSM I exam.professional and always helpful. Thank you Simon!

The timing of this was fortuitous, with the arrival of Coronavirus/COVID-19 in 2020. I hope the greater agility these organisations have achieved so far will enable them to deliver vaccines and testing solutions faster than may otherwise have been possible.

The trend that the big Pharma companies were following is part of the global movement for organisations as a whole to seek greater agility or to become ‘Agile’.

The world is becoming an ever more complex place. Change is affecting industries that remained relatively static for much of their history. Technology is changing, customer demand is changing. Unexpected and volatile events are becoming the norm. The very nature of societies and economies are shifting before our eyes. The level of change and uncertainty around us at an unprecedented level. Predicting what will happen next is impossible.

Organisations have to adapt to this changing landscape in order to survive. As a result, they are recognising the need to work in a more agile way that allows them to keep maximum options open and adapt and change direction when needed with the lowest possible risk.

You can learn more about GSK’s move towards agility here:
—https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2019/11/04/gsk-digital-and-tech-chief-drives-innovation-across-the-company/?sh=31868801ae0d
— https://www.marketingweek.com/gsk-take-on-direct-to-consumer-brands/

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