Frequently Asked Questions:

General Questions:

 

Q: How often does this page get updated?

 

A: Every 24 hours.

 

 

Q: Can I ask my question anonymously?

 

A: Yes. You do not need to submit your name and all questions are posted without mentioning the author of the question. No one has to know who asked which question as the merely content of the question that is valuable. However, if you want a personalized response you have the option to submit your name and email to get a response delivered right to your inbox.

 

 

Q: What are all the ways to get help with the new tools?

 

A: You can ask your question here, you can send an email to our Communications Director, Brad Achtem at bra400@g.harvard.edu, or you can contact your department head and they will send someone to help you. There will also be face-to-face training seminars in each department. The dates and times will be sent to your corporate email account.

 

 

Q: Who are the individuals in charge of implementing new collaboration tools at ALZPHARMA?

 

A: The ALZPHARMA executive board has asked the following three uniquely qualified individuals to do a comprehensive analysis of various collaboration tools needed at ALZPHARMA:

 

Dr. Peter Aquino, Team Leader - As a physician for 25 years, 15 working in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Aquino's strengths are his knowledge of both medicine and the industry as a whole.

 

Ade Akinbode, Meeting Facilitator - As a certified project management professional, with over 8 years in IT consulting, Mr. Akinbode has considerable experience in managing new rollouts and implementations in the service delivery industry.

 

Brad Achtem, Project Manager - With a background in healthcare administration, and as a community organizer, Mr. Achtem has experience working and collaborating in team environments and using a variety of enterprise collaboration tools.

 

 

Tool-Specific Questions:

 

Q: Why is it necessary to implement new collaboration tools at ALZPHARMA?

 

A: The field of Pharmaceutical drug development is an extremely demanding fast-paced discipline requiring strong teams, constant dialogue, sharing knowledge and bringing forth innovative ideas. This applies to every employee whether they are developing the molecule in the lab, manufacturing the drug to ensure the highest purification, or liaising with the FDA to ensure an accelerated approval to market if the drug proves to be effective in clinical trials.

 

As ALZPHARMA is now located in different parts of the US it is absolutely essential that new communication and collaboration tools will need to be implemented immediately if ALZPHARMA is to be successful in bringing to market an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

 

 

Q: What types of tools are being implemented at ALZPHARMA?

 

A: Collaboration tools can be split into nine categories:

 

1. Enterprise Social Media Networks

2. Interpersonal communication tools (e.g., email, instant messaging tools, internet phone)

3. Group and meeting communication tools (e.g., chats and web meeting tools)

4. Virtual team collaboration tools (e.g., calendars, file sharing, e-collaboration groupware suites)

5. Blogs

6. Information Sharing Tools (e.g., forums and bulletin boards, email-based forums)

7. Knowledge Resource Tools (e.g., web encyclopedia (Wiki), authoritative knowledge and research sources)

8. Information Broadcasting Tools (e.g., webcasts, podcasts, newsfeeds, push technologies)

9. Information Gathering Tools (e.g., surveys, project management, time tracking)

 

Each of these collaboration tool categories was examined and it was determined that the following six categories would be most beneficial to ALZPHARMA and were selected for implementation:

 

1. Group and meeting communication tool

2. Virtual team collaboration tool

3. Information gathering tool

4. Enterprise Social Media Network (ESN)

5. Blog

6. Information Sharing Tool

 

 

Q: What specific tool platforms were chosen?

 

A: The following tools were chosen. For more information on each tool, click the links below:

1. Group and meeting communication tool: Zoom - www.zoom.us

2. Virtual team collaboration tool: Slack - www.slack.com

3. Information gathering tool: Wrike - www.wrike.com

4. Enterprise Social Media Network (ESN): Yammer - products.office.com/yammer

5. Blog: WordPress - www.wordpress.com

6. Information Sharing Tool: Discourse - www.discourse.org

 

Implementation Questions

 

Q: When will the new collaboration tools be implemented?

 

A: Phase I collaboration tools have already been implemented. The new Phase II tools will be implemented for regular everyday use by May 26, 2019. The remainder of April and May will be used as a transitional stage to allow time for training and transfer of information onto the new platforms.