Best Practices for Deploying Process Mining in Large Organizations

With over 30 years of experience in business process management (BPM), QPR has pinpointed the primary causes of operational inefficiency in large organizations: neglecting the current “as-is” processes and lacking comprehensive understanding of them.

During organizational transformations, companies often prioritize idealized “to-be” processes, overlooking the significance of existing processes. Conversely, some organizations attempt to understand their current operations through workshops and interviews, but these efforts are time-consuming, expensive, and often biased.

Enter process mining. Tools like QPR ProcessAnalyzer analyze your organization’s data, providing an accurate, data-driven overview of your processes, pinpointing bottlenecks, and suggesting proactive solutions to process issues.

In this article, we will explore the top five best practices for implementing process mining in large organizations: BPM Maturity, Exceptions, Process Excellence, Use Cases, and Center of Excellence.

1. Understand your level of Business Process Management (BPM) maturity.

The distinction between function-oriented and process-oriented organizations is significant. In function-oriented setups, business functions like sales, marketing, delivery, finance, and R&D operate independently as silos. In contrast, process-oriented organizations have designated process owners responsible for comprehensive end-to-end processes.

In functional organizations, Process Mining offers significant improvements by clarifying unclear processes. It helps identify end-to-end activities and enhances efficiency among segregated units. However, securing support is challenging due to unclear ownership in functional silos.

Contrastingly, mature Business Process Management (BPM) organizations benefit from seamless Process Mining implementation. Although changes might be less significant, it remains valuable and effortless to deploy into operations.

2. Exceptions cause problems and require effort

We stress to our customers that exceptions are major process issues. Typically, 80% of business follows agreed processes, but the remaining 20% involves exceptions. Interestingly, the designed 80% of business requires only 20% of the effort. Workers spend 80% of their time dealing with rework, bottlenecks, and delays caused by exceptions.

Process mining is the most effective way to address non-compliant processes. Using software like QPR ProcessAnalyzer, your organization’s process owners can gain a complete overview of their processes, quickly pinpoint exceptions, understand their causes, and prevent issues before they arise.

Reducing exceptions by 10% can lead to a 40% reduction in workload. This results in improved customer service and enhanced employee productivity. Over time, fewer exceptions boost customer satisfaction, employee efficiency, and overall process effectiveness.

3. Three Steps to Process Excellence: Customer, Flow, Automation

Leveraging practical expertise gained through global engagements with large organizations, QPR experts identify three pivotal KPIs: customer satisfaction, seamless process flow, and efficient automation.

Firstly, happy customer KPIs ensure keeping promises to customers, like delivering orders on time for high satisfaction.

Secondly, happy flow KPIs guarantee adherence to agreed processes, enhancing internal efficiency with metrics like first-time-right and lead time.

Lastly, happy automation KPIs monitor process automation progress at both individual steps and end-to-end processes.

Achieving excellence involves meeting these three steps for all cases, enhancing all business processes.

4. Apply to multiple Use Cases

Big companies use Process Mining in specific areas with issues or skilled staff. Yet, understanding all processes can be applied everywhere once transparency is achieved.

5. Build a Process Mining Center of Excellence

To make the most of Process Mining, we urge organizations to establish a center of excellence. Process Mining operates at three levels. Firstly, it enables quick insights for process managers, allowing them to spot bottlenecks instantly. Secondly, it’s often used in specific projects within departments like auditing or delivery, where people understand its potential and application.

Ultimately, Process Mining should become a standard tool for continuous improvement and business transformation in organizations. To achieve this, establishing a center of excellence accessible to everyone is crucial. While Process Mining is user-friendly with existing business models, creating custom models can be complex, especially when integrating specific details from systems like ERP and logistics.

Our recommendation is to leverage your organization’s strengths. For instance, if your BPM team is experienced, they’re ideal for building the Process Mining center. Alternatively, if your IT team excels in process development, they could lead the initiative. A digital transformation unit with suitable skills could also take charge, ensuring seamless adoption of Process Mining software.

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Get a quick overview so you can spend your time improving your processes.

You can easily define and set up processes according to your own needs using a convenient layout tool. In addition, since all types of workflow processes can be managed, you get all case management in one single system. 

Analyses, statistics and reports give you an unbeatable overview with real-time status and division of responsibility. Nothing has to fall through the cracks anymore and you always have an accurate and up-to-date base for decision-making.

CANEA Process is a tool that allows you to model and share business processes in an easy-to-use graphical web interface.

Seeing is understanding

Visualisation gives all employees an understanding of the organisation’s processes, activities, responsibilities and information flows.

Living processes

Identifying working methods while making it easy to update is the basis for continuous improvement of processes.

Create a complete picture

Linking together documents, information and tools with clickable process maps create an intuitive and comprehensive management system.

CANEA Workflow is an IT solution that automates, quality-assures and speeds up administrative workflow processes.

You can easily define and set up processes according to your own needs using a convenient layout tool. In addition, since all types of workflow processes can be managed, you get all case management in one single system. 

Analyses, statistics and reports give you an unbeatable overview with real-time status and division of responsibility. Nothing has to fall through the cracks anymore and you always have an accurate and up-to-date base for decision-making.

By creating executable processes in CANEA Workflow, you get both better control of the situation and smoother processing.

Streamlining the work

Ensure compliance and that handovers are done correctly and with the right information.

Correct decision support

You get an unbeatable overview of the processes in real time, with both clear reports and clear diagrams.

Improve processes continuously

Our process support can be constantly adapted to changing needs and requirements. In this way, we give you the best possible conditions for your daily work.

A document management system without complicated folder structures.

CANEA Document combines simple and intuitive search features with powerful features for managing documents from a life cycle perspective.

Maximum availability
Search and find information quickly based on what you need, not where it is stored.

High security
Ensure accuracy, changes and access to all information – with high traceability.

Fulfils requirements
Manage information according to standards, legislation and other requirements for document management.

CANEA Document supports everything from production, publication and modification to archiving and deletion – with full traceability and version management.

CANEA Document provides secure management of all types of documents – in one place. Tagging the information with metadata creates a virtual, multidimensional folder structure. This means that a document appears in multiple locations at the same time, with authorisation-controlled access. The right information in the right place for the right users at the right time!

You can usefully add your company’s process-oriented management system to CANEA Document. All production and distribution of documents is quality-assured and streamlined. In addition, your employees always have access to the most up-to-date version of the documents – directly via intranet, tablets and mobile phones.

Improve the performance of your project activities

CANEA Project is a comprehensive project tool with integrated support for all types of projects and parties– such as management, resource owners, clients, project managers and project participants. CANEA Project gives you an excellent overview of your entire project portfolio, including profitability and status, making it easier to prioritize and make decisions.

CANEA Project shares all important project information with both internal and external members.

Let your project manager focus on management rather than administration and distribution of the information.

Gather all project information in one place and make it available to both internal and external members.

Helps you with prioritization of projects, resource management and analysis of portfolios and programs.

Make reality of the strategy

CANEA Strategy makes it possible for organisations of all sizes to create a unique common thread from the strategic work to the daily operations. We do not just provide performance management tools but rather a completely new generation of IT support for strategy activation. The system guarantees and provides support throughout the chain from strategy to execution. You get no results without action. CANEA Strategy makes it possible in practise! 

CANEA Strategy ensures and provides support throughout the entire journey from strategy to execution.

Create a shared understanding of the strategy, the goal to achieve and how.

Gives management an unbeatable overview of what’s happening, how it’s progressing, and why.

Creates a clear common thread from the strategy to project, initiatives and actions.