Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost, or quality of a specific process or method to another that is widely considered to be an industry standard or best practice. Before embarking on comparison with other organizations it is essential that you know your own organization's function effort can be measured.

Essentially, benchmarking provides a snapshot of the performance of your business and helps you understand where you are in relation to a particular standard. The result is often a business case for making changes in order to make improvements. The term benchmarking was first used by cobblers to measure ones feet for shoes. 

They would place the foot on a bench and mark to make the pattern for the shoes. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adopt best practice, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. 

Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to challenge their practices. Because benchmarking can be applied to any business process or function, a range of research techniques may be required.