Signant Health was not responding well to customer needs. Their research and development teams were in Finland, while project delivery was conducted by separate organizations in the USA and Great Britain. A small, global (but functionally-divided) project group was tailoring the product’s applications to fit specific patient study requirements, while also taking care of doctor and patient training and logistics.
The waterfall process they were using, formed partly due to USFDA requirements, was too labor intensive. When combined with a large workload and onerous documentation requirements, this made product delivery slow and cumbersome.
As a result, customer service quality and customer satisfaction decreased and responding to market changes was sluggish.
Contribyte (now part of Eficode) analyzed Signant Health’s entire delivery organization and processes. The analysis found that the role of software development throughout the product development process was not seen nor was its potential fully utilized.
Based on Eficode's analysis and customer survey, the whole CFR Health organization needed to change: including adapting its internal processes, documentation and tools, to better fit the delivery organization’s needs.
Eficode worked to build the agility required to adapt to quickly-changing market and customer requirements into the company’s practices. The delivery organization model was changed to be a more local one, which increased agility and proactivity.
Eficode was also involved in the practical implementation of both organizational and behavioral changes, and the changes required for appropriate communication.
Rather than focusing on how to meet specific medical requirements, the production organization was changed to be more customer and service oriented. As a result, the changes Eficode Contribyte recommended and carried out to the CFR Health Organization and their delivery model resulted in significant annual savings. At the same time, customer benefits and satisfaction increased.
The project is still ongoing with product development optimization. Eficode is responsible for development project’s progress and communications. Eficode also working closely with Signant Health’s management to ensure the success of the project and help in daily work of the project.
During this cooperation, Signant Health has grown both in the number of employees as well as by revenue, to more than double its size. But it is still able to service customers effectively, thanks to a new, agile approach.