Benchmarking word origin
What does the name benchmark mean?
Britannica Dictionary definition of BENCHMARK. [count] : something that can be used as a way to judge the quality or level of other, similar things. a stock whose performance is a benchmark against which other stocks can be measured..
What is the history of benchmarks?
The beginning of modern benchmarking
In the early 1900's, benchmarking was still a process of business owners studying their competitors' techniques.
However, as mechanical engineering advanced, so did the style of benchmarking.
In the mid-1900's, businesses began undertaking reverse engineering of competitor products..
Why is benchmarking called benchmarking?
Benchmarking means evaluating or checking something by comparison with a standard.
Etymologically, it derives from the term benchmark, a surveyor's mark used as a reference point in measuring altitudes..
- First steps.
In order to benchmark anything, you need to have quantitative data available to study.
That means breaking down internal processes to calculate performance metrics.
Quantify everything, because only quantifiable information can be accurately compared. - The beginning of modern benchmarking
In the early 1900's, benchmarking was still a process of business owners studying their competitors' techniques.
However, as mechanical engineering advanced, so did the style of benchmarking.
In the mid-1900's, businesses began undertaking reverse engineering of competitor products. - The roadmap was adapted from the 10-step process introduced by Robert Camp at Xerox.
Camp pioneered much work in benchmarking, and some even credit him with the first use of the term “benchmarking.”
The word benchmark has its origins among surveyors who chiselled these marks in stone to indicate levels and heights as reference points from which the constructions could be calculated. An angle-iron was placed within the cuts to form a “bench” on which to place a levelling rod.
The word benchmark has its origins among surveyors who chiselled these marks in stone to indicate levels and heights as reference points from which the constructions could be calculated. An angle-iron was placed within the cuts to form a “bench” on which to place a levelling rod.
The word benchmark has its origins among surveyors who chiselled these marks in stone to indicate levels and heights as reference points from which the constructions could be calculated. An angle-iron was placed within the cuts to form a “bench” on which to place a levelling rod.
The word benchmark has its origins among surveyors who chiselled these marks in stone to indicate levels and heights as reference points from which the constructions could be calculated. An angle-iron was placed within the cuts to form a “bench” on which to place a levelling rod.
Overview of the origins of the blues
Little is known about the exact origin of the music now known as the blues.
No specific year can be cited as the origin of the blues, largely because the style evolved over a long period and existed in approaching its modern form before the term blues was introduced and before the style was thoroughly documented.
Ethnomusicologist Gerhard Kubik traces the roots of many of the elements that were to develop into the blues back to the African continent, the cradle of the blues.
One important early mention of something closely resembling the blues comes from 1901, when an archaeologist in Mississippi described the songs of black workers which had lyrical themes and technical elements in common with the blues.
Overview of the origins of the blues
Little is known about the exact origin of the music now known as the blues.
No specific year can be cited as the origin of the blues, largely because the style evolved over a long period and existed in approaching its modern form before the term blues was introduced and before the style was thoroughly documented.
Ethnomusicologist Gerhard Kubik traces the roots of many of the elements that were to develop into the blues back to the African continent, the cradle of the blues.
One important early mention of something closely resembling the blues comes from 1901, when an archaeologist in Mississippi described the songs of black workers which had lyrical themes and technical elements in common with the blues.
