St. Charles
'Don’t Tell the Client We’re Idiots' and Other Working Mottoes of a Biostatistical Contract Research Organization: Tips for the Consulting Statistician (303778)
*Kent Koprowicz, Axio Research
Emily Woolley, Axio Research
Keywords: consulting, collaboration, communication, management
Statistics is hard. Working with people is harder. We present lessons learned over our combined 30+ years of statistical consulting – from initiating client contact to managing client communications to archiving of deliverables and interim results. Our experience is primarily within the clinical and pharmaceutical world but the concepts presented here are relevant to anyone serving as a consultant or working in a diverse team setting. This presentation will help participants better anticipate and overcome challenges that they will face as professional statistical consultants. Topics to be discussed include: • Project kick-off o Defining roles and responsibilities o Establishing channels of communication o Setting expectations o Learning from history • Project execution o Planning for the expected and the unexpected o Seeking transparency o Keeping calm o Keeping confident and confidentiality • Project Closeout o Knowing what the client needs o Delivering your deliverables o Preparing to answer questions long after you think your work is done o Archiving 101