Benchmarking and process management go hand in hand. Without process management, benchmarking may occur, but with no effect on processes. Without benchmarking, process management becomes a static exercise, with solely the search to root out inefficiency as our guide. This weeks discussion therefore addresses elements of each of these concepts.BenchmarkingPrior to the invention of industry$-$wide quality standards $($e$.$g$.,$ TS$16949),$ comprehensive quality standards $($e$.$g$.,$ the ISO $9000$ series$),$ and awards for quality excellence $($e$.$g$.,$ the MBNQA$),$ the only way to perform benchmarking was to study leading organizations. Such efforts were rather difficult due to organizational opacity: How does one manage to peer inside an organization with trade secrets$?$ How does one ask for performance$-$related data from a direct competitor?The development of the noted standards has created alternative and, indeed, more reliable criteria against which to benchmark performance. Nowadays, if an organization chooses to adopt one of these standards solely as a benchmark $($versus preparing for an external evaluation to compete for an award or secure membership in an industry association$),$ it is engaging in benchmarking. That is$,$ it is preparing to assess itself against a known standard and devise ways to remedy gaps.Process ManagementProcess management is construable as the complement of results management. That is$,$ if we put process management and results management together, we will measure the whole organization. In process management, we focus on the movement of the parts, as it were, rather than the end$-$product of that movement. Processes are cyclical. In measurement terms, they are recursive, so outputs continuously produce data that become new inputs.We can break process management down in terms of standard operations nomenclature, namely, a division among feedforward, concurrent, and feedback standards and metrics. In this tripartite division, feedforward control refers to steps and measures that precede the running of the actual processes. Concurrent control involves measurable parameters during the run $($e$.$g$.,$ performance appraisal or operational gauges$).$ Feedback control refers to those measures that occur after it$.$In the quality management cycle $($PDSA$,$ or PDCA$),$ feedback control occurs in the check $($study$)$ phase. After having the process run for a predetermined period or number of cycles, we examine the output $($feedback$)$ data, to judge where to make corrections. In fact, the check phase may also present concurrent data, if we have been collecting operational data in the midst of each process run up to that point. The final $($act$)$ phase involves analyzing the feedback, hence translating it to support changes in operating parameters for the next feedforward control phase $($plan$)$ of PDSA.Select a Question to Answer#$1.$ Benchmarking: Process improvement. How is benchmarking a necessary part of process improvement? How might an organization undertake benchmarking without using an external benchmarking referent? Could it adopt internal benchmarks for some aspects of this purpose?#$2.$ Benchmarking: The Benchmarking Exchange. Examine the Benchmarking Exchange website $($google benchnet to find it quickly$).$ How might an organization take advantage of this service to benchmark internal processes? What kind of pattern do the Metrics in Progress suggest about the state of the art?#$3.$ Benchmarking: ISO $9000.$ How might an organization use the ISO $9000$ series standard to benchmark its processes? What kind of information would be missing from this criterion, if an organization opted to use it exclusively for its benchmarking needs? What else should it do$?$#$4.$ Benchmarking: MBNQA. How might an organization use the MBNQA for benchmarking? If an organization opted to use it exclusively for its benchmarking needs, what kind of information would be missing from this criterion? What else should it do for completeness?#$5.$ Process management: Feedforward control. How does the plan step in the PDSA cycle incorporate feedforward control? Can planners plan, in the PDSA context, without feedforward control? What may be some common errors that planners commit in this effort?#$6.$ Process management: Concurrent control. Where in the PDSA cycle do planners apply the concept of concurrent control? What kinds of mistakes should planners especially try to avoid in their usage of concurrent$-$control data, within the PDSA cycle?#$7.$ Process management: Feedback control. How does the check step in the PDSA cycle include feedback control? What other kind of control may be correctly analyzable in this step, and how might planners include it$?$ What may be some common errors to avoid from this perspective?#$8.$ Process management: Value stream mapping. In a practical sense, what exactly must we do$,$ step by step, to conduct value stream mapping? What kinds of errors are planners most likely to commit when trying to map and streamline processes in their organizations?Start by indicating your selected question by number. Freely add an example or two from your experience or observations after answering the question.