The term bench mark (= yardsticks set) designates first a formalized concept, in order to find possibilities for improvement by the comparison of capability characteristics of several comparable objects, processes or programs. Within the concept complex Metriken is defined out well reproducibly to raising masses. The term is used both in the economic science and in applied computer science.

Benchmarking

The fundamental goal of the Benchmarking is it, the weaknesses of an enterprise and its processes or a computer and its programs by comparison with other enterprises, processes, to uncover computers or programs and increase the efficiency. For this comparison either at least two sequential collections of data are to be accomplished or to be raised data as at the same time as possible from at least two different objects.

In the economic science the Benchmarking supplies a Metrik for a complex achievement from a number of individual mass, which is found with the help of a Benchmarking study. Benchmarking is repeats assigned process, in order to judge and improve products, services and working processes of several enterprises or also the effect of political defaults. In applied computer science that is bench mark a standardized Metrik, after which the complex achievement of two comparable programs or computers is objectively measured on the basis a number of individual mass and these are compared and evaluated according to certain criteria.

There are so far no examples internationally more standardized (ISO) bench mark, industrielle standards for example by SPEC is set.

Economic science

Management economics

Origins of the Benchmarking

Word Benchmarking has its origin in the wood processing. A carpenter attached in former times a marking (Mark) at his work bench (bench). With this measure it guaranteed that e.g. when manufacturing legs of a chair all legs become equivalent long. In addition it set and at the edge of the work bench cut simply a piece off wood concisely on the marking. The term Benchmarking was established today within new ranges.

The Benchmarking developed in practice and is to US-American Xerox corporation to be due: The American copier manufacturer was end of the 70's in a difficult competition position, under quality and cost problems. The competitor Canon from Japan brought a copier to a selling price on the market, which was substantially under manufacturing costs for comparable devices with Xerox. The market shares of Xerox dropped on the copier market steeply. For this reason Xerox used 1979 for the first time the Benchmarking. A copier of the competition was bought, divided and compared the individual components with those of the own copiers. So the lower manufacturing costs of the Japanese could be explained as a large part. In a next step the activities of the individual creation of value chains in the enterprise were analyzed, with the result that substantial problems during logistics and selling processes could be uncovered. Due to these first successes Benchmarking became soon a main column of the Xerox strategy. Since that time the Benchmarking developed itself further across several generations and to different manifestations led.

In the European union the Benchmarking is used since at the end of of 1996 as a method, in order to compare the Leistungskraft of the individual job markets of the European Union countries. Weaknesses of individual member states are to be openly put and the respective governments into the position to be put to accomplish urgently needed reforms. Appropriate comparison methods are so far rather uncommon on the national levels of the policy, the urge of national or regional policy to more transparency are increasable.

In the Federal Republic of Germany there are within the range of the public administrations and organizations on the one hand laws for the Benchmarking (e.g. hospitals, old age pension insurance), on the other hand also freiwillige activities in so-called Benchmarking Clubs.So is for example the legal accident insurance carriers with scientific company thereby a Prozessbenchmarking to be accomplished and further developed, both the qualitative, and quantitative goals and effects considers.

Reasons for the Benchmarking

Enterprises use Benchmarking for different reasons:

• Scalar money mass: The reduction on mass alone is not sufficient, in order to estimate the competitive ability during a coming period.
• Long-term existence safety device: Enterprises measure at international achievement sizes and through-live a learning and a conversion process by exchange of experience. On increasingly satisfied markets and in times of global competition is important for a long-term existence safety device.
• Prognosis: Benchmarking information is used also to judge the condition of the market and prognosticate market potentials. Ex.: Trend with the development of products/services, consumer behavior.
• New ideas: Benchmarking forces to think an enterprise in addition about proceedings and strategies of other enterprises. Thus the enterprise comes to outside of that four wall thinking.

Goals of the Benchmarking:

• Strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise point out
• Positioning of the enterprise in the comparison to the competition
• Measure plan for increase in efficiency provide and convert

Manifestations

1. Benchmarking forms after the characteristic "Benchmarking partners ":

• Internal Benchmarking: Here the comparison of Benchmarking objects takes place either within an enterprise or with associated enterprises. Become bspw. Processes, methods or enterprise units compared with one another
• External Benchmarking: External Benchmarking is accomplished with partners, which stand outside of the own enterprise.

Forms of it are:

• Competition-oriented Benchmarking
• Cooperative Benchmarking (extended exchange of experience, see Future registered association)
• Industry-oriented Benchmarking
• Function-oriented Benchmarking (gene Eric Benchmarking)

2. Benchmarking forms after the characteristic "Benchmarking object ":

• Product Benchmarking
• Process Benchmarking
• Organization Benchmarking

Phases of the Benchmarking

1. Objective/preparatory phase:

• Definition of the Benchmarking object
• Nominating the Benchmarking team
• Search and selection of the Benchmarking partner

2. Comparison phase:

• Definition from measuring data to the performance determination
• Definition of data raised from Metriken to the evaluation
• Determination and analysis of the achievement gap

3. Conversion phase:

• Definition of goals and strategies for gap locking
• Definition from plans of action to the conversion

4. Control phase:

• Result and progress control

Political economy

Here it concerns the competitive ability of:

• Regions (e.g. Lands of the Federal Republic)
• Industries
• States of (e.g. national job markets in the European Union S. o.)

Benchmarking results are published among other things in the World Competetiveness report.

Applied computer science

Benchmarkings are standardized test procedures, with whose assistance one determines the achievement of EDP systems or system classes and according to certain criteria can compare these with one another. Admit are the bench mark tests for the hardware achievement with computer systems.

Origins of the hardware bench mark tests

• 70's-years: Measurement in Mips and flops
• Early 80's-years: Measurement in Dhrystones and Whetstones
• Since 1989: Application bench mark test the standard performance evaluation corporation (SPEC). This concerns a series of applications (e.g. neural nets, finite elements, video coding etc.), which are divided in Integer more referred (SpecInt) and Floatingpoint more referred (SpecFp) - programs. Accordingly the final result of the tests forms always two numbers, which indicate the achievement related to a reference machine (bench mark). With Spec2000 this is e.g. a Sun UltraSparcIIi/256MB.

Hardware bench mark tests include traditionally only CCU and memory access achievement. Diagram map, mass storage etc. are not tested.

The next Spec actualization is to take place according to information the standard performance evaluation corporation 2006. The selection of the individual bench mark components is meanwhile final.

Example of hardware bench mark

Table of some Dhrystone values as example of hardware bench mark:

{|

! Type! Microprocessor! Operating system! Compiler! Dhrystones/seconds., NO move! Dhrystones/seconds., move | - |IBM PC/XT |8088-4.77Mhz |PC/IX |cc |257 |287 | - |VAX 11/780 | |UNIX 5,2 |cc |1.515 |1.562 | - |Compaq PIII/450 | |NT4 |TCC 3.1/286/287 | |71.428 | - |Compaq PIII/450 | |NT4 |wcc 10.5/-otexan-fp5 | |250.000 | - |FMS AthlonXP1800 | |SUSE 8,1 |gcc | |2.016.129 | - |FMS AthlonXP1800 | |SUSE 8,1 |gcc - O3 | |5.050.505 |} 

Sense-related terms

• Bench mark as standardized test procedure for the measuring of performance of devices.
• Totally quality management
• Benchmarking with Success resource Deployment

Articles in category "Bench mark"

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