
2 Permission granted to photocopy for personal use. ©2009 APQC
Interpreting the PCF ______________________________________________________________________________ 3
Overview _______________________________________________________________________________________ 4
1.0 Develop Vision and Strategy ___________________________________________________________________ 4
2.0 Design and Manage Products and Services _______________________________________________________ 5
3.0 Market and Sell Products and Services __________________________________________________________ 5
4.0 Deliver Products and Services _________________________________________________________________ 7
5.0 Manage Customer Service ____________________________________________________________________ 9
6.0 Develop and Manage Human Capital ____________________________________________________________ 9
7.0 Manage Information Technology _______________________________________________________________11
8.0 Manage Financial Resources __________________________________________________________________ 14
9.0 Acquire, Construct, and Manage Property ______________________________________________________ 17
10.0 Manage Environmental Health and Safety _______________________________________________________ 17
11.0 Manage External Relationships ________________________________________________________________ 18
12.0 Manage Knowledge, Improvement, and Change __________________________________________________ 18
PROCESS CLASSIFICATION FRAMEWORK TABLE OF CONTENTS
LOOKING FORWARD
The APQC Process Classification Framework is an evolving model,
which APQC will continue to enhance and improve regularly. Thus,
APQC encourages comments, suggestions, and more importantly,
the sharing of insights from having applied the PCF within your
organization. Share your suggestions and experiences with the
ABOUT APQC
An internationally recognized resource for process and performance
improvement, APQC helps organizations adapt to rapidly changing
environments, build new and better ways to work, and succeed in
a competitive marketplace. With a focus on productivity, knowledge
management, benchmarking, and quality improvement initiatives,
APQC works with its member organizations to identify best practices;
discover effective methods of improvement; broadly disseminate
findings; and connect individuals with one another and the knowledge,
training, and tools they need to succeed. Founded in 1977, APQC is
a member-based nonprofit serving organizations around the world
in all sectors of business, education, and government. APQC is
also a proud winner of the 2003 and 2004 North American Most
Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) awards. This award is
based on a study by Teleos, a European based research firm,
and the KNOW network.
RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
©2009 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. APQC encourages the wide
distribution, discussion, and use of the PCF for classifying and defining
processes. APQC grants permission for use and adaptation of the
PCF for internal use. For external use, APQC grants permission for
publication, distribution, and use, provided that proper copyright
acknowledgment is made to APQC. No modifications to the look or
content should be made in external venues. Please use the following
text when reusing the PCF in external print or electronic content.
THE APQC PROCESS CLASSIFICATION
FRAMEWORK
SM
The PCF was developed by APQC and its member companies as an
open standard to facilitate improvement through process management
and benchmarking, regardless of industry, size, or geography. The PCF
organizes operating and management processes into 12 enterprise-
level categories, including process groups and over 1,000 processes
and associated activities. The PCF and associated measures and
benchmarking surveys are available for download and completion at
no charge from the Open Standards Benchmarking Collaborative
Web site at www.apqc.org/OSBCdatabase.
UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERING SCHEME
Beginning with Version 5.0.0, the PCF uses a numbering scheme that
differs from previous versions. The cross-industry framework and the
industry-specific frameworks collectively form a library of process
The PCF is written in United States English language format.