The original edition of this book was the first guide to present a pragmatic model for using the breakthrough quality tool called "benchmarking." In the eight years since, readers have gobbled up over 80,000 copies. The new second edition is a thorough update and includes scores of fresh examples and current "lessons learned" from world-class benchmarkers such as Ford, Lucent, USAA, Dow Corning, Intel, Kodak, Dupont, and Sprint. Readers learn how to:
* Master the basics: determining what products or processes to benchmark, forming a team, identifying partners, collecting and analyzing the information, taking action * Utilize recent modifications to the model and incorporate new protocols, research, and changes in deployment methods * Understand the connection between benchmarking and its subset, known as "best practices"--a field that's received much recent attention * Take advantage of e-mail, the Internet, and intranets--and the tremendous impact these developments are having on the state of benchmarking today.