OrganizingEnterprisewideITEffortsUsing

APQC'sProcessClassificationFramework

Acasestudyexample
ByMichelleCowan
Organizations use process frameworks for a variety of purposes. Models like APQC's Process
ClassificationFramework(PCF)aredevelopedasguidesfororganizationstothinkabouttheirbusinesses
in terms of process. Concentrating on endtoend processesrather than on function or department
specificworkflowschangesthewayanorganizationvisualizesitselfandpromotesamoreholisticview
oftheactivitiestakingplaceenterprisewide.
The IT function within an organization, in particular, often has an obligation to understand enterprise
activitiesatleastthoserequiringspecifictechnologiesonamuchbroaderscale.Toeffectivelyserve
the entire organization while minimizing costs and streamlining systems, IT must understand the
connectionsthatexistbetweenvariousgroupsandtheapplicationsandprogramstheyuse.
TheITorganizationwithinoneAPQCmembercompanyrealizedthattheonlywaytoachievethekindof
alignmenttheyneededwouldbetomapeverypartofthebusinesstospecificprocessesandthenmap
thoseprocessestotheapplicationsused.Iftheycoulddothis,ITwouldknowwhichapplicationswould
workforeachprocess,nomatterwhereitoccurredwithinthevastanddispersedenterprise.Theycould
also record which technologies and applications were employed within particular functions so that if a
changewaseverneeded,ITcoulddetermineanyconflictsordependenciesthatmightexistbetweenthe
affectedapplications.
IT'sMappingApproach
Function Process Application
Figure1
CHALLENGESDRIVINGTHEADOPTIONOFAPQC'SPROCESSCLASSIFICATIONFRAMEWORK
Prior to attempting this effort, the IT function at this APQC member organization had a difficult time
determining the differences between technology systems used by various areas of the enterprise. The
Fortune 500 company that the IT function supports spans 150 countries and provides many different
kindsofproductsandservices,includingtechnologicalequipmentandsupport.Theorganizationworks
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directly with customers and leverages hundreds of applications to support its multiple business units.
Ordercaptureandinvoicinginparticularrequireasignificantnumberofuniqueapplications.
Before IT began mapping applications to processes and functions, it was impossible to know where
technological overlaps and duplicate processes existed. Therefore, solutions to simplify or enhance
workflow in one geographic location or business unit typically were not applied to other areas of the
enterprise.Ifsolutionslikethesewerereplicated,ittookaconsiderableamountoftimeandeffortforIT
to pinpoint the other locations where the enhancement would be appropriate. This lack of knowledge
also prevented IT from quickly diagnosing potential conflicts before the version upgrades or software
changeswereinstitutionalized.
The best solution appeared to be aligning all of the different businesses in the enterprise (and their
processes) to one standard process framework. If IT could merge and revise the lexicons used to
describe the processes at all the diverse business units into a single standard, it could identify places
where IT efforts could be simplified or replicated, roll out application updates or changes
simultaneously,reduceconflicts,anddecreasecosts.
IT leaders looked at several process frameworks, but none could be applied as holistically as APQC's.
Executives rejected smaller frameworks targeted at specific business segments, asserting that they did
not encompass the business as a whole and would not paint an accurate picture of the enterprise. IT
needed something more robust. Version 4.0 of APQC's PCF came closer than the rest, but the
organization still had reservations about some of the process areas that were not covered in as much
detailastheenterpriserequired.
Luckily,theorganization'sframeworkselectionprocesscoincidedwiththereleaseofAPQC'sPCFversion
5.0andseveralindustryspecificPCFs.ThesepublicationsfilledinmanyoftheprocessgapstheITteam
hadstruggledwithinthe4.0version.BasedontheAPQCstructureandterminology,theteamwasable
to start tweaking the framework to a custom version that would represent their organization more
accuratelyandbemoreacceptedenterprisewide.
BUILDINGTHEBUSINESSCASEFORITINITIATIVESBYBUILDINGTHEBUSINESSCASEFORPCF
STANDARDIZATION
Historically, IT had a difficult time proving its case to business executives for certain upgrades or
technology changes. The IT organization could not communicate its goals or the reasons for its
suggestions in terms that executives could understand it. IT came to leadership speaking its
technologicallanguage,whenwhatleadershipneededwasabusinesscasetiedtothebusinessstructure
intermsthatcomplementedtheexecutiveviewoftheorganization.Seniorleadersneededtoseewhere
theirdollarsweregoingandhowITfitintothemakeupoftheenterprise.
Mapping IT applications to the business (via processes) would help achieve the business alignment IT
needed.ItwouldfacilitatecommunicationbetweenexecutivesandITrepresentatives,withtheprocess
taxonomy providing a shared language. To set the stage for this project, IT began holding talks with
businessunitleadersaboutitsplantoaligntheorganizationtooneprocessframework.Thesemeetings
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were essential because IT would need the support of those decision makers to get the time and
resourcesrequiredtomapveryspecificsegmentsofthebusinesstotheframework.
Going into these meetings, IT changed its usual tactics. Instead of trying to secure leadership to
understandwhereitwascomingfrom,ITdecidedtogointoeachmeetingwiththegoalofspeakingthe
executives' language. Rather than selling an IT agenda, IT approached leaders with a vision to improve
theefficiency,cost,andqualityofworkacrosstheenterprisebyaligningapplicationswithprocesses.
These meetings initiated an exercise where functional leaders mapped the activities within their units
to APQC's Process Classification Framework. The effort began in supply chain, which is usually the
functionwithinanorganizationmostreadytoapplyprocessthinking.Manysupplychainactivitiesfallin
clearprocesslines,sotheywereeasyforITtomaptotheframework.ITthenmappedthesupplychain
processestotheITapplicationscurrentlyinplace.
After mapping just one part of the enterprise, the relationships between technologies became clearer.
As IT understood the work that was being performed in a more tangible way, they could see the
interconnections between applications and where they could simplify the systems. IT gained a deeper
pictureofhowthebusinessoperatedwhichithadpreviouslylacked.
Having taken supply chain leaders through the process mapping exercise, IT could more effectively
articulate to decision makers the changes it wanted to make. The lines IT could now draw between
applications and business results (from the start of the process to the output) supported its case for
changes in a way executives could understand. Leaders could see the impact that giving extra dollars
giventoITwouldmake,suchasreapinglongtermcostsavingsfromreplacingonemanagementsystem
withanother.
Previously, executives asked for IT to reduce costs, and IT was unable to prove that an investment in
systemreorganizationorreplicationwouldresultinanetsavings.Now,ITcouldshowleadersnotonly
the costs associated with a single system or piece of technology, but also the overall impact that
investmentsinatechnologycanhaveonprocessesfrominitiationtocompletion.
SPREADINGPCFMAPPINGENTERPRISEWIDE
After having success mapping supply chain processes, IT began addressing other areas of the business,
including product development. At this point, APQC's industryspecific PCFs came into play more
heavily. Developing a combination of the industry PCFs with version 5.0 of the crossindustry PCF was
necessary to ensure that all activities were covered, in particular servicerelated processes common to
functions like product/service development, sales, and customer service. Without these gaps filled,
leadershipwouldnotsupporttheproject.
Currently, the organization's custom amalgam of APQC's crossindustry PCF version 5.0 and a selection
ofindustryspecificprocessescovers90percentofprocesseswithinanyportionofthebusiness.Ittook
ITacoupleofyearsofrefiningtheframeworkincooperationwiththevariousbusinessunits,butnow,
the process framework is aligned to the needs of the entire enterprise and increasingly embraced by
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leadership. Because decision makers see the congruencies in the PCF more readily than the gaps, their
receptivitylevelhasincreasedsignificantly.
The greatest challenge IT faced was introducing the process concept to typically nonprocess oriented
parts of the business, like gotomarket sales. Because this group did not see its activities as parts of
predictablelinesofprocesses,ithadthemostdifficulttimemappingitstechnologicalneedstospecific
activities.Salesdelayedthemappingtimeandtimeagain.
However, the lack of a process roadmap eventually became a red flag for executives, who were
appreciating the benefits of process mapping more and more. Leadership saw other areas of the
businessdevelopingroadmaps(functionstoprocessestoapplications)andconsequentlydemonstrating
costsavings,higherefficiency,andenhancedITsupport.Therefore,executivesrequiredthatthegoto
marketfunctionfollowtheirlead.
Onlyessentialgotomarketsystemswouldbefundeduntilthesalesfunctioncouldaligntheirbusiness
activities and technological needs with process terms. This required moving a representative from the
enterprise architecture team (the internal group that oversees the IT alignment initiative) into the
organization to assist with the task. Currently, gotomarket mapping efforts are well underway,
resulting in a better understanding of gotomarket activities and their relationships to different
applications.
ITUSEOFTHEPCFANDLESSONSLEARNED
Bycreatingaprocessframeworkthatdepictsallenterpriseactivities,ITcanpaintanaccuratepictureof
how its services and technologies are deployed and what the interactions and commonalities are
betweenthosedeployments.WorkbeingdonenowtobuildroadmapswillmakecontinuedupkeepofIT
systems much easier. IT can easily tie their applications to business outcomes, no matter where the
application is employed. And if ingenious technological solutions or packages are developed for a
particularpartofthebusiness,ITcanreplicatetheminotherlocations,animportantfeaturewithinan
organizationasgloballydispersedandcostandqualityfocusedasthisoneis..
TheleadersofthisITinitiativeofferthreelessonstheylearnedtoothersthinkingaboutimplementinga
processapproach:
Startwiththemostrobustframeworkpossible.
Speaktoleadersintheirlanguage,oratleasthavethegoaloflearningtheirlanguageandapplyingit
toyourownproposals.
Start in an area of the business conducive to process thinking (like supply chain); then, you can
demonstrate success to parts of the organization that may be more resistant to the process
paradigmshift.

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Interestingly,ITitselfdoesnotuseAPQC'sPCFprocesscategory7.0ManageInformationTechnologyto
map its internal processes. Instead, it uses various, highly ITspecific frameworks like ITIL
1
and COBIT
2
.
The model employed for this IT group demonstrates the fact that organizations must customize
frameworkssothattheyapplymostcloselytotheirparticularbusinesses.Ifaframeworkdoesnotapply,
itwillnotbeembracedandmaynotevenbeuseful.
In this case, APQC's PCF has enabled IT to reach out to other functions and business units and start an
enterprisewise movement toward process thinking, which has helped the enterprise understand its
many components and how they relate to each other and to outcomes. Equipped with a better
understanding of how work is actually accomplished, IT can offer better, more targeted service and
providemoreappropriateapplications.ThesharedprocesslanguagethathasbeendevelopedallowsIT
to better communicate with leadership about its needs; it also helps executives frame their vision for
the enterprise in more practical terms of what they need from IT and where they need it. Business
relationshipshavebeenimprovedfromallsidesbecauseaprocessframeworkhasbeenimplementedin
waysthataccuratelyreflectandinformtheenterprise.

ABOUTAPQC
For over 30 years, APQC has been on the leading edge of improving performance and fostering
innovationaroundtheworld.APQCworkswithorganizationsacrossallindustriestofindpractical,cost
effective solutions to drive productivity and quality improvement. We are a memberbased nonprofit
currentlyservingmorethan500organizationsinallsectorsofbusiness,education,andgovernment.
CONTACTINFORMATION
123NorthPostOakLane,ThirdFloor
Houston,TX770247797
phone:+17136814020or8007769676
fax:+17136818578
email:apqcinfo@apqc.org
www.apqc.org

1
TheInformationTechnologyInfrastructureLibrary(ITIL)isacollectionofbestpracticeapproachesandmodelsforIT,a
registeredtrademarkoftheOfficeofGovernmentCommerceintheUnitedKingdomandothercountries.
2
ControlObjectivesforInformationandrelatedTechnology(COBIT)isawidelyusedframeworkforITmanagementcreatedby
theInformationSystemsAuditandControlAssociation(ISACA)andtheITGovernanceInstitute(ITGI).