It could be unit cost per product or service delivered, or it could be time to market, or reject rate, etc. To discover radically new approaches to the process under study, keep these metrics simple and accessible, i.e., use date that the benchmarking organizations customarily keep. Use the node tree of the activity model to organize collection, analysis, and presentation of your metric data. Be critical of your discoveries. Activity models provide an organizationally neutral context within which processes can be analyzed, improvements proposed and evaluated, and desired changes planned and implemented.
Organizational neutrality is essential to make the model bases comparisons.
It also helps avoid potential pitfalls. The more difficult pitfalls are political. Organizations get nervous when you start talking about their costs. Be prepared to ensure confidentiality of data, especially with external benchmarking partner. Within the company an atmosphere conducive to change is essential not just in policy, but in practice as well.