The close of the year brings both the excitement of the holidays and an opportunity to look back on everything we’ve achieved—and even the things we hoped to do. At APQC, we’ve spent the year developing content to help process professionals succeed with greater speed and confidence. If you haven’t had a chance to explore it all, now’s the time! Check out the topics below for a summary of this year’s research and links to collections full of insights, measures, and tools.
I hope this year has been rewarding for you and that you’re looking forward to closing it on a high note! As you reflect on the past and start planning for 2026, I’d love your input on our 2026 Priorities and Challenges Survey. Your feedback will help us understand where process professionals plan to focus next year—your priorities, challenges, and even insights on operational KPIs and digital tools. Once the survey is wrapped up, I’ll share the results with participants and the broader process and performance management community. I’ll also present the findings in a February webinar—details will be posted on our events page soon.
Best Practices in Applying Process Frameworks
In March 2025, APQC conducted its bi-annual Best Practices in Process Frameworks survey to learn how organizations are using process frameworks, the common adoption practices, implementation practices, and the challenges involved.
View the content collection: Best Practices in Applying Process Frameworks 2025
Strategic Planning and Organizational Agility
In today’s rapidly changing environment, organizations need flexibility in their decision-making practices and responsiveness to the implementation of new initiatives. APQC conducted a survey in July of 2025 to explore strategic planning practices and identify the key characteristics that drive organizational agility.
This collection examines trends in organizational agility, strategic planning practices, inputs and assessments for the planning process, implementation practices, and measures of success.
View the content collection: Strategic Planning and Organizational Agility 2025
Project Management
Project management and process management are often treated as two separate domains. In reality, every project is a bundle of processes arranged in a work breakdown structure, and the maturity of those processes can make or break project outcomes. This research explores how embedding process thinking into project management strengthens delivery, reduces risks, and connects project outputs to organizational performance.
View the content collection: Process-Driven Project Management
Change Management
At its core, change management is the act of proactively managing change and minimizing the resistance to organizational change through a set of structured processes or set of approaches to transition employees, teams, or an entire organization to a desired future state. However, as you may have heard before, change is hard. Organizations continue to struggle with effectively implementing change.
In August of 2025, APQC conducted a survey to explore the common practices and effectiveness of key change management components.
View the content collection: Change Management Practices
Organizational Productivity
This research explored how organizations define productivity and how they measure it. The analysis highlights key enablers, common barriers, and the impact of organizational culture, leadership, and AI tools on productivity.
Insights reveal that while most organizations prioritize efficiency and innovation, challenges such as siloed teams, inefficient systems, and process and knowledge bottlenecks remain.
View the survey report: Best Practices In Organizational Productivity: Survey Report
New Case Studies
Building a Better BPM Architecture: Boon Edam’s Journey with Process Frameworks
Suppose you are building a house; you wouldn’t begin pouring foundation or raising walls without a blueprint in hand. You would start by consulting with an architect to design a plan to provide structure and ensure every part of the building fit together seamlessly. In the same way, implementing an effective process management program requires a well-defined framework that can help guide each decision and keep everyone on the same page. This case study focuses on Boon Edam’s journey in developing a process management program that began with constructing an architecture that could provide direction and accountability.
Charting the Course: Sourcewell’s Journey to Operational Excellence
Continuous improvement isn’t confined to a single team or project at Sourcewell—it’s what keeps the public organization moving forward. Based in Minnesota, the self-funded agency provides a variety of services and programs to support nonprofits, schools, and other government entities as they navigate toward stronger collaboration and greater efficiency. By reframing continuous improvement efforts to better resonate with employees, providing practical toolkits, and deliberately setting aside time for problem solving, Sourcewell has made operational excellence part of its everyday work. This article explores the frameworks, practices, and lessons that have shaped Sourcewell’s continuous improvement journey.
That’s a Wrap!
Thanks for joining us in looking back on this year’s highlights! As you plan for 2026, don’t forget to take a moment to share your perspective in our 2026 Priorities and Challenges Survey—your input will help shape the conversations and resources for the year ahead. Good luck as you wrap up the year and I hope you find time to enjoy the holiday season!