Process Mining Basics

Business Intelligence (BI) and Process Mining assist decision-makers in analyzing organizational data.

Business processes can be complicated and spread out across different systems in larger companies. Analyzing these processes through traditional methods can be time-consuming and involve a lot of manual work to gather and refine data. However, process mining simplifies this process by automating many of the necessary steps, allowing you to concentrate on improving your processes to achieve better outcomes.

Finding and connecting the data

The first step in building a process mining engine is finding the data you want to analyze, and why. For most companies, this comes from the data already available in IT tools and systems, like your: 

  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP) 
  • Enterprise asset management (EAM) 
  • Enterprise service management (ESM)
  • IT service management (ITSM)
  • Supply chain management (SCM)
  • Human resource management (HRM) 
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)


To perform process mining, all you need is time-stamped action or event data. The advantage of process mining over other data analytics areas is that it uses very detailed event data, such as the precise time when an order was placed, so there are hardly any concerns about data quality.

Once you’ve linked the right data and systems to your process mining platform, you can take a break and let the platform do the work of connecting the dots while you grab a cup of coffee.

Process discovery

For some companies, this may be the first time seeing their operations and processes from a bird’s eye view and at scale.

Process mining tools use a special code, like an order number or customer ID, to sort out data and create event logs that show what activities were done and when along with other details. They focus on collecting the data that will help improve the process.

When using an advanced process mining platform, it’s very easy to carry out this step. The platform creates automatic visual representations of your current process flows, allowing you to see how the end-to-end processes work by default. You can investigate different process variations at a detailed level or look at overall trends.
 
Process and root cause analysis

Root Cause Analysis is a method to identify why problems occur in your processes, such as bottlenecks, rework, or exceptions. It shows these issues in flowcharts and ranks them based on how much they affect business results. This helps you decide which problems to tackle first and take action to improve your business operations.

As you can see in the diagram below, this organization is now able to see the as-is flow of their Order to Cash process, along with the initial bottlenecks and errors.

Conformance analysis
Some process mining software, such as QPR ProcessAnalyzer, includes conformance analysis by default, while others require manual setup. Conformance analysis involves automatically comparing the actual process to a predetermined model and providing actionable insights. In simpler terms, it helps you compare how things are being done with how they should be done according to a blueprint and gives you suggestions for improvement.
 
Process mining platforms can create a visual representation of a process and detect variations between the planned blueprint and the actual execution. This makes it simple to assess how closely the process follows the original plan in real-world scenarios. In simpler terms, process mining platforms can help you see how well a process is being followed in practice by creating a picture of the process and highlighting any deviations from the original plan.
 
Conformance analysis goes beyond just checking for adherence to a process model. Process mining tools can also automatically calculate and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to a process, such as lead times and compliance with process requirements. In simpler terms, process mining can help you monitor how well a process is performing by tracking important metrics and indicators like lead times and process compliance.
 
Process mining software can also be set to send alerts or take corrective action when a deviation is detected.
Automation

After improving your processes, process mining can identify which ones are best suited for automation, in order of priority. By evaluating the expected ROI, you can determine which processes should be automated, and easily scale up automation efforts. In simpler terms, process mining can help you decide which processes are worth automating by looking at the potential return on investment, allowing you to prioritize automation and scale it up easily.

Reference: The business leader’s guide to process mining

Business Intelligence (BI) and Process Mining assist decision-makers in analyzing organizational data.

Business processes can be complicated and spread out across different systems in larger companies. Analyzing these processes through traditional methods can be time-consuming and involve a lot of manual work to gather and refine data. However, process mining simplifies this process by automating many of the necessary steps, allowing you to concentrate on improving your processes to achieve better outcomes.

Finding and connecting the data

The first step in building a process mining engine is finding the data you want to analyze, and why. For most companies, this comes from the data already available in IT tools and systems, like your: 

  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP) 
  • Enterprise asset management (EAM) 
  • Enterprise service management (ESM)
  • IT service management (ITSM)
  • Supply chain management (SCM)
  • Human resource management (HRM) 
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)


To perform process mining, all you need is time-stamped action or event data. The advantage of process mining over other data analytics areas is that it uses very detailed event data, such as the precise time when an order was placed, so there are hardly any concerns about data quality.

Once you’ve linked the right data and systems to your process mining platform, you can take a break and let the platform do the work of connecting the dots while you grab a cup of coffee.

Process discovery

For some companies, this may be the first time seeing their operations and processes from a bird’s eye view and at scale.

Process mining tools use a special code, like an order number or customer ID, to sort out data and create event logs that show what activities were done and when along with other details. They focus on collecting the data that will help improve the process.

When using an advanced process mining platform, it’s very easy to carry out this step. The platform creates automatic visual representations of your current process flows, allowing you to see how the end-to-end processes work by default. You can investigate different process variations at a detailed level or look at overall trends.
 
Process and root cause analysis

Root Cause Analysis is a method to identify why problems occur in your processes, such as bottlenecks, rework, or exceptions. It shows these issues in flowcharts and ranks them based on how much they affect business results. This helps you decide which problems to tackle first and take action to improve your business operations.

As you can see in the diagram below, this organization is now able to see the as-is flow of their Order to Cash process, along with the initial bottlenecks and errors.

Conformance analysis
Some process mining software, such as QPR ProcessAnalyzer, includes conformance analysis by default, while others require manual setup. Conformance analysis involves automatically comparing the actual process to a predetermined model and providing actionable insights. In simpler terms, it helps you compare how things are being done with how they should be done according to a blueprint and gives you suggestions for improvement.
 
Process mining platforms can create a visual representation of a process and detect variations between the planned blueprint and the actual execution. This makes it simple to assess how closely the process follows the original plan in real-world scenarios. In simpler terms, process mining platforms can help you see how well a process is being followed in practice by creating a picture of the process and highlighting any deviations from the original plan.
 
Conformance analysis goes beyond just checking for adherence to a process model. Process mining tools can also automatically calculate and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to a process, such as lead times and compliance with process requirements. In simpler terms, process mining can help you monitor how well a process is performing by tracking important metrics and indicators like lead times and process compliance.
 
Process mining software can also be set to send alerts or take corrective action when a deviation is detected.
Automation

After improving your processes, process mining can identify which ones are best suited for automation, in order of priority. By evaluating the expected ROI, you can determine which processes should be automated, and easily scale up automation efforts. In simpler terms, process mining can help you decide which processes are worth automating by looking at the potential return on investment, allowing you to prioritize automation and scale it up easily.

Reference: The business leader’s guide to process mining

Business Intelligence (BI) and Process Mining assist decision-makers in analyzing organizational data.

Business processes can be complicated and spread out across different systems in larger companies. Analyzing these processes through traditional methods can be time-consuming and involve a lot of manual work to gather and refine data. However, process mining simplifies this process by automating many of the necessary steps, allowing you to concentrate on improving your processes to achieve better outcomes.

Finding and connecting the data

The first step in building a process mining engine is finding the data you want to analyze, and why. For most companies, this comes from the data already available in IT tools and systems, like your: 

  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP) 
  • Enterprise asset management (EAM) 
  • Enterprise service management (ESM)
  • IT service management (ITSM)
  • Supply chain management (SCM)
  • Human resource management (HRM) 
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)


To perform process mining, all you need is time-stamped action or event data. The advantage of process mining over other data analytics areas is that it uses very detailed event data, such as the precise time when an order was placed, so there are hardly any concerns about data quality.

Once you’ve linked the right data and systems to your process mining platform, you can take a break and let the platform do the work of connecting the dots while you grab a cup of coffee.

Process discovery

For some companies, this may be the first time seeing their operations and processes from a bird’s eye view and at scale.

Process mining tools use a special code, like an order number or customer ID, to sort out data and create event logs that show what activities were done and when along with other details. They focus on collecting the data that will help improve the process.

When using an advanced process mining platform, it’s very easy to carry out this step. The platform creates automatic visual representations of your current process flows, allowing you to see how the end-to-end processes work by default. You can investigate different process variations at a detailed level or look at overall trends.
 
Process and root cause analysis

Root Cause Analysis is a method to identify why problems occur in your processes, such as bottlenecks, rework, or exceptions. It shows these issues in flowcharts and ranks them based on how much they affect business results. This helps you decide which problems to tackle first and take action to improve your business operations.

As you can see in the diagram below, this organization is now able to see the as-is flow of their Order to Cash process, along with the initial bottlenecks and errors.

Conformance analysis
Some process mining software, such as QPR ProcessAnalyzer, includes conformance analysis by default, while others require manual setup. Conformance analysis involves automatically comparing the actual process to a predetermined model and providing actionable insights. In simpler terms, it helps you compare how things are being done with how they should be done according to a blueprint and gives you suggestions for improvement.
 
Process mining platforms can create a visual representation of a process and detect variations between the planned blueprint and the actual execution. This makes it simple to assess how closely the process follows the original plan in real-world scenarios. In simpler terms, process mining platforms can help you see how well a process is being followed in practice by creating a picture of the process and highlighting any deviations from the original plan.
 
Conformance analysis goes beyond just checking for adherence to a process model. Process mining tools can also automatically calculate and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to a process, such as lead times and compliance with process requirements. In simpler terms, process mining can help you monitor how well a process is performing by tracking important metrics and indicators like lead times and process compliance.
 
Process mining software can also be set to send alerts or take corrective action when a deviation is detected.
Automation

After improving your processes, process mining can identify which ones are best suited for automation, in order of priority. By evaluating the expected ROI, you can determine which processes should be automated, and easily scale up automation efforts. In simpler terms, process mining can help you decide which processes are worth automating by looking at the potential return on investment, allowing you to prioritize automation and scale it up easily.

Reference: The business leader’s guide to process mining

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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.