Benchmarks and metrics are a form of reference data, but the purpose is primarily to support the
validation of project plans (Section 8.1). Benchmarking is a process that compares practices, processes, and
relevant measures to those of a selected basis of comparison (i.e., the benchmark) with the goal of
improving performance. The comparison basis includes internal or external competitive or best practices,
processes, or measures. Validation is a form of benchmarking applied specifically to plans to assess
whether the plan results are competitive and achieve the performance objectives.