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Benchmarking: Improve your win rate through continuous quality improvement

Maryann Lesnick

Principal Consultant, Lohfeld Consulting Group

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Agenda

• What is Benchmarking?• Background/History• Why Benchmark?• Types of Benchmarks• The Benchmarking Process• Sources of Proposal/BD Benchmarks• Benchmarking Tools• Continuous Process Improvement

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What is Benchmarking?

• The continuous process of comparing an organization’s practices and performance measures with that of its most successful competitors or against a standard

• A continuous process in which organizations continually seek to improve their practices by learning from others

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Background/History

• Benchmarking has it origins in surveying

• An altitude or geographic (lat/long) reference point

• A sighting point from which measurements could be made

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Business Benchmarking…

• 1970’s – concept adopted by businesses to form comparison’s against competitors

• 1980’s – Xerox became the first leader in corporate benchmarking

"Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, services, and practices against the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as industry leaders."

Former Xerox CEO David Kearns

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Why Benchmark?

In 1989, Xerox won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award

for its Business Products and Systems

Benchmarking is a criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award

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Why Benchmark?

Without Benchmarking With Benchmarking

Internal focus External, competitive focus

Not invented here Breakthrough ideas and learning

“Gut feel” decisions Fact-based decisions

Evolutionary change Revolutionary change

Industry laggard Industry leader

From: Robert J. Boxwell, Jr. Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage

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Why Benchmark?

• Companies that use benchmarking improve their strategies, performance, and processes

• Companies that use benchmarking for business development practices improve win rates

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Types of Benchmarks

• Strategic: Organization structures, decision making, alliances (partners), investment, vision, corporate integration

• Performance: Price to win, presentation, quality, tools, roles, skills, risk management

• Process: Operating practices, quality reviews, knowledge management, integration, institutionalization, improvement

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Benchmarking Process

Process created by R. Camp, Xerox Benchmarking Manager

Level 1• Initial

Level 2• Repeatable

Level 3• Defined

Level 4• Managed

Level 5• Optimized

CMMI

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Keep it Simple

Four key steps

• Plan the benchmark

• Capture competitor/industry best practice benchmarks

• Evaluate your performance against the benchmarks

• Take action based on the learning

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Step 1. Plan the Benchmark

Define the focus areas for study

• Dozens to choose from

• Pick from those within your control

Proposal ProcessToolsTrainingInformation/Proposal ContentGraphicsProposal Quality/Presentation

Organization/CapabilitiesCompetitive IntelligencePrice to WinBid DecisionsCaptureColor Reviews

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Step 1. Plan the Benchmark, cont’d

• Define the process

• Identify who? Internal or objective third party

• Timeframe

• Participants

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Step 2. Capture Best Practice Benchmarks

• Identify sources for competitor/industry best practices

– Industry best practices

– Individual companies who are successful in the practice area

– Surveys and studies

• Select the benchmarks you will use

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Example: 7 Proposal Benchmarks

• Compliant

• Responsive

• Customer focus

• Compelling and feature rich

• Visual communications

• Well written

• Easy to evaluate

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Step 3. Evaluate your performance

• Compare/analyze against the benchmark targets and industry best practices

– What are the gaps?

– What can you learn?

– What can you improve?

• Evaluate your last 3 proposal/bid projects, or the next one as you do it

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Step 4. Take action based on learning

• Determine what improvements can be made

• Develop an Improvement Plan

• Implement the improvement strategy

• Continuously monitor

• Make benchmarking a regular part of the process

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Sources of Proposal/BD Benchmarks

• Training

• Public and electronic sources

• Articles and writing by industry leaders

• Blogs

• Consultants

• Conduct your own survey

• Learn from partners/competitors

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Sources cont’d

• APMP

– Body of Knowledge

– APMP Salary survey

– Certifications

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APMP BOK – Benchmarks for Scheduling

TASK TIME

Writing: New material 4 pages/day

Writing: Extensive revision 8–10 pages/day

Writing: Minimal revision 20–25 pages/day

Simple graphic 1–2 hours each

Complex graphic 2–6 hours

Retouch photo 1–2 hours

Complex illustration 1+ days

Final document review (new) 40 pages/day

Final document review (with extensive boilerplate) 80 pages/day

DTP (clean input) 30–60 pages/day

Can be used as a starting point…

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Sources cont’d

• Shipley

– Proposal Guide

– Capture Guide

• Deltek (annual Clarity Study)

• Bloomberg

• Award debriefs

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Sources cont’d

• BD Institute – Capability Maturity Model for Business Development – Metrics to Manage Business Development Results– Benchmarks in Price-to-Win and Competitive Analysis

Capability– Benchmarks in World-Class Proposal Writing Capability

• Proposal Development Steps• Automation Tools• Organizational Constructs• Training Approaches• Other Factors Affecting Performance

– 2016 BD-Institute Benchmark Study

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Sources cont’d

• Other industry sources– Commercial vs. Federal practices/standards– Project Management Institute and PMBOK– SEI/CMMI– Agile– NCMA– Lean Six Sigma– ITIL

• Industry surveys– Hinge (www.hingemarketing.com) surveys

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Benchmarking Tools

• Checklists

• Spreadsheet

• Metrics

• Automated tools• GoBench

• SAP Lumira

• Combo Benchmark

Proposal Quality Benchmarks Proposal 1 Proposal 2 Proposal 3 …

Compliance

Responsiveness

Customer Knwoledge/focus

No fluff

Talked about the how

Strengths obvious

Solution clear

Benefits

Low risk justification

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Benchmarking Tools cont’d• Lohfeld 7-Factor Company Win Rate Model

– People– Business Acquisition Processes– Tools– Decision-making– Solution competitiveness– Proposal quality– Winning culture

Survey shows on average, a 20% increase in 7-factor scores produces a 20% increase in win rate!

PEOPLE

4

4

32

1

4

3

2

1

43

21

43

21

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

3

2 1

PROPOSAL TOOLS

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Continuous Process Improvement

• Document internal practices

• Adjust industry best practice to your own business areas

• Measure improvements over time

• Continue to monitor selected focus area(s)

• Monitor sources for new standards, practices, innovations

• Add new focus areas

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Additional Resources

• www.isixsigma.com

• American Productivity and Quality Center (www.apqc.com)

• The Benchmarking Exchange (www.benchnet.com)

• Best Practices, LLC & Global Benchmarking Council (www.best-in-class.com)

• www.sapstore.com (select product: Lumira)

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Contact MeMaryann Lesnick, CP APMP, PMP, CSM

Principal Consultant Lohfeld Consulting [email protected](703) 479-0673

Member, Board of DirectorsAPMP International

Membership ChairAPMP-National Capital Area Chapter