<P> Benchmarking is comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies . In project management benchmarking can also support the selection, planning and delivery of projects . Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost . In the process of best practice benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist, and compares the results and processes of those studied (the "targets") to one's own results and processes . In this way, they learn how well the targets perform and, more importantly, the business processes that explain why these firms are successful . According to National Council on Measurement in Education, benchmark assessments are short assessments used by teachers at various times throughout the school year to monitor student progress in some area of the school curriculum . These also are known as interim assessments . </P> <P> Benchmarking is used to measure performance using a specific indicator (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others . </P>

Benchmarking is a process that helps compare a company against