CSI-Benchmarking

What is a good approach to bench marking Select two

What are the practices that aids successful bench marking

Benchmarking is often a process of comparing and organization's performance to industry standard figures.

What are benchmark research techniques 1. informal conversations with customers, employees or suppliers 2. Focus Groups 3. market research 4. Quantitative research 5. Surveys 6. Questionnaires 7. Re-engineering Analysis 8. Process Mapping 9. Quality Control Variance Reports 10. Financial Ratio Analysis

What costs are involved in bench marking? 1. Visit Costs 2. Benchmarking database costs 3. Time Costs

Comparison with our competitors can lead to 3 outcomes - we maybe [blank_start]better[blank_end], the [blank_start]same[blank_end], or we may be [blank_start]worse[blank_end].

if we find we are better, this can give [blank_start]competitive[blank_end] [blank_start]edge[blank_end] to the organisation in the market and give [blank_start]confidence[blank_end] to customers. We may find we are weaker that our competitors, but te effect of this does not have to be negative. Abenchmark can be the catalyst to initiation and [blank_start]prioritisation[blank_end] of formal process improvement.

A Benchmark is the basis for

The benefits of bench-marking includes

Benchmarking will also help organisations to focus on strategic planning in areas of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

the 3 main areas of contribution within the organisation: 1. [blank_start]The Customer[blank_end] 2. [blank_start]The User or Consumer[blank_end] 3. [blank_start]The internal service provider[blank_end] 4. External service provider 5. Member of the public 6. benchmarking partners

When there are a number of services or processes to benchmark, we need to prioritise. Service management processes are bench-marked to find out if they are cost-effective, responsive and can be compared favourably to other organisation's processes.

4 basic stages of bench marking are

Benchmarking - what should we meassure

Benchmarking - what can we meassure

Benchmarking - Gather the data

Benchmarking - Process the Data

Benchmarking - Analyse the data

Benchmarking - Present and Use the Data

Benchmark - Implement corrective action

What are Assessments Select the correct answer

Assessments are used for?

An assessment cannot be carried out by an external third party or internally

Some disadvantages to external assessments

Disadvantages of internal assessments include

The fact that an organization is undertaking an assessment demonstrates a significant level of commitment to improvement.

We can think about assessments in line with the improvement lifecycle – at: Project [blank_start]initiation[blank_end] Project [blank_start]mid-stream[blank_end] Process [blank_start]in place[blank_end]

Assessment at the inception of process introduction is the equivalent of the [blank_start]Plan[blank_end] step during the [blank_start]Deming[blank_end] cycle

Assessment during a project is also equivalent to the [blank_start]Plan[blank_end] step of the Deming cycle.

We can initiate an assessment during process implementation or improvement activities, to serve as [blank_start]validation[blank_end] that the project objectives are being met. This will provide tangible [blank_start]evidence[blank_end] that benefits are being achieved from the investment of time, talent and resources in process initiatives

Assessment once a process is in place is equivalent to the [blank_start]Do[blank_end] or [blank_start]Check[blank_end] stages of the Deming cycle

An assessment can be carried out upon conclusion of a process project, and once the process has been up and running for a period of time. This is [blank_start]validation[blank_end] of the maturity of a process and the process organization.

In addition to serving as a decisive conclusion for a project, scheduling periodic reassessments can support overall organizational integration and [blank_start]quality[blank_end] efforts.

The scope should be based on the assessment’s objective, and the expected future use of process assessments and assessment reports. It can be as broad as all processes currently implemented, or focused specifically on known problems within the current process environment. What are the levels of scope?

Full assessments includes the following: Select all that applies:

Advantages of Assessments They can provide an [blank_start]objective[blank_end] perspective of the current operational process state compared to a standard [blank_start]maturity[blank_end] model and a process [blank_start]framework[blank_end]. Through a thorough assessment, an accurate determination of any [blank_start]process[blank_end] gaps can be quickly completed, recommendations put forward and action steps planned A well-planned and well-conducted assessment is a [blank_start]repeatable[blank_end] process. Thus the assessment is a useful management process in measuring progress over time and in establishing improvement targets or objectives Using a common or universally accepted [blank_start]maturity[blank_end] framework, applied to a standard process framework, can serve to support comparing company process maturity to industry [blank_start]benchmarks[blank_end]

The disadvantages include: An assessment provides only a [blank_start]snapshot[blank_end] in time of the process environment. As such it does not reflect current business or cultural dynamics and process operational issues If the decision is to outsource the assessment process, the assessment and maturity framework can be vendor or framework [blank_start]dependent.[blank_end] The proprietary nature of vendorgenerated models may make it difficult to compare to industry standards The assessment can become an end in itself rather than the means to an end. Rather than focusing on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of processes through process improvement, organizations can adopt a mind-set of improving process for the sake of achieving [blank_start]maturity targets[blank_end]  Assessments are labor-intensive efforts. [blank_start]Resources[blank_end] are needed to conduct the assessments in addition to those responding such as process or tool practitioners, management and others. When preparing for an assessment, an honest estimate of time required from all parties is in order  Assessments attempt to be as objective as possible in terms of measurements and assessment factors, but when all is said and done assessment results are still subject to [blank_start]opinion[blank_end] of assessors. Thus assessments themselves are subjective and the results can have a bias based on the attitudes, experience and approach of the assessors themselves

As part of an assessment, we need to look at the relationships between

Before we can start improving, we need to understand what [blank_start]services[blank_end] are being provided to the business. This can help to identify [blank_start]improvements[blank_end] to the service itself, or improvements to processes supporting the business service

Gap analysis can be performed at the strategic, tactical or operational level of an organization. Analysis can also be conducted from different perspectives, including