AligningbyProcessAcrossaLargeEnterprise

HowoneworldwideorganizationhascustomizedAPQC'sProcess
ClassificationFrameworktoenhanceperformanceandinformation
sharing
ByMichelleCowan
OneofAPQC'smembers,alargeenergy(petroleum,oil,gas,chemicals)organizationwithassetsof$150
billionandoperationsinmorethan30countries,isaligningitsworkaccordingtoprocessesoutlinedin
APQC's Process Classification Framework (PCF). Each department within the organization is taking the
PCF and tweaking it to match the processes particular to its business. The enterprise has achieved
tremendous success with this in IT, and the methods employed there are being replicated in the other
areas.
STARTINGTOALIGNBYPROCESS
Trying to standardize processes across a worldwide enterprise can be daunting. With upstream
petroleumoperationsacrossthelower48states,Alaska,Norway,andothercountries,theorganization
struggledtoalignprocessessothatimprovementscouldbemadeacrosstheboard.
Theorganizationneededawaytostoreknowledgeandinformationaboutallofitssitesandactivitiesso
thattheinformationcouldbeleveragedbyoutpostsaroundtheglobe.Thebestsolutionseemedtobe
toimplementcontentmanagementsystemsandothertechnologiesbasedonacommonframeworkof
processes. The organization finally settled on APQC's Process Classification Framework (PCF) as the
backboneofitsprocessinventory.
APQCs PCF had the highestlevel, most comprehensive structure they could find. It offered enough
structure to set a standard and then familiarize people in each part of the business with process
thinking,butitwasopenenoughtoallowforcustomizationwherenecessary.
MAKINGTHECASEFORPROCESSALIGNMENT
Itwaseasiertoimplementaprocessframeworkwithinthedownstreampetroleumpartofthebusiness
thanintheupstreamsegments.Upstreamprocessesdealwithalltheactivitiesnecessarytopumpand
acquiretheoil.Downstreamprocessesincludetherefinementanddeliveryoftheproducttocustomers.
Downstream employees more readily saw their work as congruous to that of other downstream
functions,butupstreamemployeesbelievedtheworkperformedattheirindividualsiteswasrelatively
unique and did not immediately understand the need to link their work in a process chain to other
functionsinthebusiness.
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Despite early hesitation, what appealed to managers at upstream sites was the potential to share best
practicesacrossthediversesitelocations.Eventhoughtheycouldnotenvisionalltheirworkprocesses
lining up according to a framework at first, they are becoming increasingly willing to see how a
framework could be used to standardize the way information is documented, organized, and shared
amongdifferentsitesandbusinessunits.
Toincreasebuyin,leadershiphashadtoeducateemployeesonwhat"process"meansandthebenefits
that can result from content and performance management based on process (e.g., learning from a
variety of sites, standardization, increased efficiency, enhanced communication). The topdown nature
oftheprocessedictalsohelpedmovechangeforward.
ASSIGNINGPROCESSOWNERSHIPANDACCOUNTABILITY
Each organization within the enterprise (e.g., IT, HR, finance, all international organizations) is tasked
with customizing the PCF to match their processes. APQC's PCF provides a consistent backbone and
startingplaceforeachgroup,buteachbusinesshasfreereigntoensurethattheirframeworkaccurately
reflectstheworkbeingdone.
Thevariousbusinessesarecreatingtheseindividualprocesshierarchiesandmakingsuggestionsforthe
enterprise framework, but leaders will review the recommendations and preliminary process
frameworks to create standardized versions that can span the entire enterprise. Each group has a
framework it is already using, so adopting a consistent standard is fairly challenging. Some businesses
have embraced process thinking and understand the need to align the enterprise according to a single
standard, but leadership still faces some obstacles to getting complete buyin across all divisions or
areas.
ALIGNINGPROCESSESWITHINTHEITFUNCTION
IThadaparticularinterestinmovingtowardprocessthinkingbecauseitneededtofindawaytosupply
and maintain technological systems in every location as costeffectively and with as little conflict as
possible.Tostreamlineitsprocesses,ITdevelopedan"ITProcessInventory"specifictotheorganization,
which combines APQC's PCF, COBIT
1
, and ITIL
2
. This has proved extremely effective, and all of their
processesaligntoit.ITcanshareandlookupinformationbasedonthenumbersoftheprocessesrather
thantryingtosearchaccordingtootherfactors(e.g.,location,equipment,systems).Itismucheasierto
findsolutionsthathaveworkedbeforeaspeople begintofilenewrecords (andretroactivelyfileolder
records)accordingtotheprocessframework.

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

ThecurrentlistofleveloneprocesseswithinIT'scustomizedprocesscategory7.0Manageinformation
technologyis:
7.1ManagetheITportfolio
7.2DevelopandmanageITcustomerrelationships
7.3ManageITpoliciesandstandards
7.4Manageenterprisecontentandinformation
7.5ManageITinfrastructureandapplications
7.6ManageITservicesandsupport
7.7ManageITrequests
7.8ManageITpeople
7.9ManageITknowledge
LESSONSLEARNEDANDCURRENTENTERPRISECHALLENGES
Leadership support has been critical for process framework implementation. The designation of a
special team, the Process Executive Council, in IT ensured that adequate resources were allocated for
the effort of aligning the framework. Because alignment was a corporate priority, employees were
granted the time needed to devote energy to the task of customizing a framework. This model of
implementationisbeingreplicatedinotherbusinessunitsbecauseitdidprovesoeffectiveinIT.
Theorganizationisstilldeterminingitsmeasurementstrategy.Itcitesthisasoneofthekeymissing(or
underdeveloped) pieces of its current performance improvement and alignment approach. It wants to
develop measures at each process level to track progress toward performance objectives. Right now,
the organization tracks a dashboard of metrics and indicators, but none of these are aligned with the
framework or coalesce in true "balanced scorecard" fashion. Some of the measures tracked in IT, for
example,include:
Budgetperformance
Totaloperatingbudget
Safety(e.g.,accidents,nearmisses,ergonomictrainingassessments)
Compliance
Security(e.g.,numberofvulnerabilitiespatched,numberofsecuredmachines)
Operatingefficiency
IThelpdeskresolutionrate
CalltimetoreachITsupportperson
Callanswerrate
Outages
Plannedoutages
Lostprofitopportunity(i.e.,howmanydollarswouldbelostifXequipmentwentdown)

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Theenterprisehasbeensuccessfulingeneratingchangeinmostofitsbusinessunits,despitereluctance
orhesitancyinsomeareas.Afewofthethingsithaslearnedduringtheprocessinclude:
Getting a consistent group together to engineer the process alignment is key. When managers
change, everything changes, and new people have to be trained. This is a challenging and time
consumingordeal.
Bring frameworks to at least 80 percent complete alignment with actual work. If an 80 percent
agreementcanbereachedamongthoseworkingontheproject,thentheframeworkwilllikelypass
executivescrutinyandbeusedeffectivelyinmanypartsofthebusiness.
Do not wait too long to begin changing. The organization was stalled by spending too much time
putting process owners in place. Many process owners would shift positions, move locations, or
leave the organization before real alignment or mapping efforts began. In the end, the changes
simply needed to be initiated, with the appropriate individuals identified and trained for various
rolesalongtheway.
Therolesandplansdonothavetobeperfectforimplementationtobegin.Spendingtoomuchtime
engineeringframeworksanddeterminingwhowillchampionprocessalignmentineachbusinesscan
stopprogressfrombeingmade.Ideashavetobetestedunderrealconditions,andcommunication
with the work force cannot be delayed. Starting at 80 percent readiness ensures that employees
have the opportunity to provide input and that roles and responsibilities can change as efforts
evolvetoward100percentcompletion.
CONCLUSION
This organization feels that shifting to a process alignment is definitely the right move. The IT function
hasseenbenefitsin costs andefficiencyfromensuringthatrecordsandservicesaretrackedaccording
toprocesses.Otherpartsofthebusiness,particularlysupplychainandfinance,alsolendthemselvesto
aprocessstructure.Theyaresuccessfullymovingtowardtotalalignment,whichisresultinginimproved
performanceandbolsteringthecaseforenterprisewideadoptionofprocesshierarchies.
Implementing a process standard in the upstream petroleum business is still a challenge, but at this
point, change management efforts have at least sparked the upstream businesss interest in sharing
informationandlearningfromthebestintheenterprise.Topdownleadershipisensuringthateachpart
oftheorganizationisalignedandlearninghowtouseaprocessstructure.
As a result of improvements already evident in some business areas, the organization sees potential
performanceimprovementsacrosstheboardasaresultofcustomizedprocessalignment.Muchofthe
work force also recognizes this possibility. The difficulty now is keeping consistent teams in place to
facilitate the alignment of sitespecific processes and the development of an overarching structure for
upstream operations that can be used and accepted worldwide. Based on success in downstream and
othersupportingbusinesses,leadersbelieveprocessalignmentiswellworththeeffort.
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ABOUTAPQC
For more than 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
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phone:+17136814020or8007769676
fax:+17136818578
email:apqcinfo@apqc.org
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