When It Comes To IRT/RTSM In Your Clinical Trials, Speed Isn't Always A Good Thing

Speed is often celebrated in clinical trial execution, but moving quickly only matters if quality comes with it. In this clip, Iain Little — IRT Practice Lead at Tenthpin and former Team Head of IRT Management at Novartis — challenges the industry’s growing obsession with faster timelines and faster builds, especially in the RTSM space.

He explains why the push for rapid delivery can overshadow the fundamentals that keep studies stable: thoughtful design, operational alignment, and technology that remains reliable long after go‑live. Speed may feel like progress in the moment, but without the right controls, it can amplify risk, introduce avoidable errors, and create bottlenecks later in the trial when course correction is far more expensive.

Little offers a pragmatic perspective on what “getting it right” truly means — balancing urgency with discipline, efficiency with precision, and innovation with rigor. For teams navigating complex study setups or maturing digital ecosystems, his insights reframe speed as one piece of the puzzle rather than the measure of success.