APQC debuts classification framework for cities
Connecting state and local government leaders
APQC has released a set of standard language, formats and metrics that will help city governments manage and plan their work.
APQC has released a set of standard language formats and metrics to help city governments manage and plan their work. The Process Classification Framework (PCF) for city governments presents a complete listing of what cities do to facilitate benchmarking, process improvement, communication and forge a stronger collaboration between city workers, constituents and vendors.
The City PCF was developed by APQC, a benchmarking and best practice research provider, in collaboration with Microsoft, Accenture, Schneider Electric and the City of Redmond, Wash.
City governments may use the PCF a variety of ways. Mayors and city council members can use the PCF for strategic planning and performance management, while IT managers can use it for benchmarking or selecting viable technology solutions. The City PCF also can help technology vendors map their solutions to specific capabilities or initiatives within a city.
The City PCF also works as an additional resource to complement the Microsoft CityNext Reference Model.
“The City of Redmond immediately saw the value in creating a City PCF when we were approached by Microsoft to collaborate. This framework provides the architectural guidance that every smart city needs to successfully break down functional silos and provide its citizens a consistent, efficient and most importantly, pleasant, experience when they interact with city processes,” said Mike Bailey, finance director for the City of Redmond.
The PCF identifies 12 high-level functional categories and contains over 1,000 process elements that represent the operations of an organization. The tool covers service delivery, constituent engagement and management of human capital, financial resources and information technology.
The City PCF gives IT managers metrics for:
- Managing enterprise information, including information and content management strategies, enterprise information architecture and enterprise data and content management.
- Developing maintaining and deploying information technology solutions.
- Delivering and supporting information technology services.
“APQC is pleased to introduce a city government-specific tool to enable benchmarking, identify process innovation and optimization, and facilitate governance and audit as well as strengthen communication,” said John G. Tesmer, director of open standards benchmarking with APQC. “The City PCF spans the needs of an entire city’s staff from mayors and city managers to functional service leaders and operations teams for finance, IT and HR.”