4.4.2. Benchmarking techniques
The second type of technique, benchmarking, “depends on
identifying an ‘excellent’ organization in a field and
documenting its practices and tools.” Benchmarking
assumes that if a less-proficient organization adopts the
practices of the excellent organization, it will also become
excellent. Benchmarking involves assessing the maturity of
an organization or the capability of its processes. It is
exemplified by the software process assessment work. A
general introductory overview of process assessments and
their application is provided in (Zah98).