Data and information come from all segments of the organization, customers, and suppliers as one would anticipate. They come also from competitors and from the world beyond the business environs. Within the matured organization key measures tethered to customer and organizational requirements for performance are a lucid, unprejudiced foundation for alignment of process with goals. Only what can be controlled is measured. The emphasis is on actual performance versus expectations.
Data are easy to collect, easy to understand.
Data are expected and reviewed. They are used to improve. Delivers of mail are not assassinated, and improvement is rewarded. In the matured organization benchmarking is an applied science. It is a part of the continuous review of assumptions and processes that are the quintessence of the organization.