"Our commitment to meeting ... challenges compels comprehensive transformation of The Army. To this end, we will begin immediately to transition the entire Army into a force that is strategically responsive and dominant at every point on the spectrum of operations."

Excerpt from The Army Vision Statement, October 1999

Change is a reality for The Army. We maintain our dominance across the entire spectrum of operations by properly anticipating future requirements and transforming to meet those needs. Remaining an Army that is persuasive in peace, invincible in war requires that we stay ready for the future. The United States Army does not react to change... The Army leads change.

The Army Performance Improvement Criteria (APIC) is a valuable resource for leading change. It supports the Army Vision by providing a framework for in-depth organizational assessment and measurement of the continuous improvement efforts that are the hallmark of Total Army Quality (TAQ). Based on the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, the APIC guides Army leaders through seven categories, which examine all aspects of their organization and determine how well it is meeting its goals. The categories are interrelated and based on a set of values and concepts that when fully applied result in a highly effective and efficient organization.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria for Performance Excellence and the PQA Criteria form the basis for the Army Performance Improvement Criteria (APIC). The APIC rewords these Criteria to fit the unique nature of the Army Mission. It uses the applicable business principles embedded in these Criteria to continuously improve the Army’s ability to efficiently create, maintain, and sustain combat power in peacetime and war. 

The APIC supports Total Army Quality in three specific ways. First, it serves as a working tool for strategic planning, organizational assessment, and training. Second, it raises the organization's performance expectations and standards. Finally, it establishes common performance criteria to facilitate communication and sharing of best business practices among Army organizations, business, and industry.

In 1988, Secretary of Defense issued a challenge to all of the services to become the most efficient organizations possible. The Army acted immediately on this directive and later codified it in AR 5-1, Army Management Philosophy, published by the Director of Management in 1992. This regulation introduced TAQ. It directs continuous performance improvement and efficiency across the board.

The APIC was first published in 1995 to support TAQ efforts by providing a standard method of measuring the results of continuous improvement efforts. It is updated and refined annually. The APIC 2000 includes actual examples of self-assessments for each category. These "real world" examples make the APIC a "How To" document and a means of sharing best management techniques, strategies, and performance practices. These examples are from the applications submitted for the 2000 President’s Quality Award as reviewed by the Headquarters Department of the Army, Board of Examiners. Immediately following the example is the feedback comment for that item from the Examiner team.

The entire document is available for download in MS Word 97 (*.doc)(754Kb), WinZip (*.zip)(252Kb), and Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf)(513Kb) formats or can be viewed online with or without frames.

In April of 1999, the Secretary of the Army recognized the great success Army organizations have achieved by "using the APIC as an assessment methodology and framework for continuous improvement." Use the APIC to accelerate your own organization's successful transformation.

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Acknowledgements

The Strategic Management and Innovations Division (SMID) would like to thank the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army for their personal commitment to the revolution in business affairs and dedication to Total Army Quality. The applications and feedback reports for the 2000 President’s Quality Award (PQA) Program from XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Rock Island Arsenal, US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and White Sands Missile Range are the source documents for the examples of organizational self-assessments of this edition. We appreciate their permission to use their self-assessments. We also thank the U. S. Army Construction Engineering Laboratory (CERL) for developing the "CLIFFNOTES for Leaders" on the APIC for Performance Excellence.

Please send comments to MAJ Thomas Bozada: leadingchange@hqda.army.mil

 

Last revision: 18 Aug 2008