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Benchmarking

Compare your value metrics against peer datasets using the Layer 6 Benchmark Service. See percentile rankings, peer medians, and industry baselines to ground your assumptions in real market data.

Who this is for

End User Admin Executive

Prerequisites

  • An approved value model with calculated metrics.
  • Benchmark datasets available for your industry and segment.
  • Reviewed Core Concepts: Value Metrics.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Open Benchmarking

  1. Navigate to Analytics → Benchmarks.
  2. Alternatively, use the Compare Benchmarks tool in the ROI Calculator.

2. Select a dataset

  1. Choose from available datasets filtered by industry and segment.
  2. Default datasets include:
  3. Manufacturing
  4. SaaS B2B
  5. Healthcare
  6. Financial Services

3. Choose a metric

Common metrics include:

Metric Unit Typical use
roi_percent Percent Compare investment return
cost_reduction USD or percent Compare efficiency gains
time_to_value_months Months Compare implementation speed

4. Run comparison

The system returns:

Field Description
Percentile Your rank among peers (5, 17, 37, 62, 82, 95)
Peer Median The p50 value
Peer Range p10 to p90
Sample Size Number of peers in the dataset
Confidence high (1000+), medium (500+), or low (<500)
Assessment top_performer, above_average, average, below_average, needs_improvement

5. Validate a value

  1. Use the validation tool to check if your metric falls within the expected peer range.
  2. Enter your value and tolerance (default 10%).
  3. The system returns:
  4. is_valid — boolean
  5. expected_range — min and max with tolerance
  6. deviation_percent — how far you are from the median
  7. severity — info, warning, or error

6. Upload custom data (admin only)

  1. Admins can add tenant-specific datasets via Governance → Benchmarks.
  2. Required fields per dataset:
  3. dataset_id
  4. name, description, industry, segment
  5. metrics with statistical profiles (p10, p25, p50, p75, p90, sample_size)
  6. Custom datasets can be private to the tenant or shared globally (requires super admin).

Tip: Use validation before finalizing forecasts

If your value falls far outside the peer range, review your assumptions before submitting the business case for approval. A 95th percentile cost reduction may be realistic if you have unique technology, but it needs stronger evidence.

Permissions required

Role Permission Scope
User Compare / Validate Assigned initiatives
Admin Upload / Edit datasets / Set global baselines Tenant-wide
Executive View / Export Portfolio

Limits and guardrails

Limit Peer comparisons are capped at 1,000 records per query. Limit Custom datasets must include at least 50 records to be used in comparisons. Limit Benchmark data is refreshed nightly from Layer 6.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Dataset not found for my industry

Cause: No benchmark dataset has been loaded for your industry or segment. Resolution: Ask an admin to check Governance → Benchmarks or upload a custom dataset. Verify the industry spelling matches the dataset exactly.

Issue: Percentile seems inconsistent with peer median

Cause: The dataset distribution is skewed, so median and percentile may diverge. Resolution: Review the full peer range (p10–p90) and sample size to assess confidence. Skewed distributions are common in cost reduction metrics.

Issue: Validation returns severity error for a value I know is correct

Cause: The tolerance is too tight, or the dataset is outdated. Resolution: Increase the tolerance percent in the validation request, or ask an admin to update the dataset with recent peer data.

Issue: Custom dataset upload fails

Cause: Missing required metric fields or invalid statistical profile. Resolution: Ensure every metric includes p10, p25, p50, p75, p90, and sample_size. Verify that p10 ≤ p25 ≤ p50 ≤ p75 ≤ p90.

Escalation path

For dataset upload failures or Layer 6 service unavailability, open a support ticket with severity P2.