What is Process Mining?

What is Process Mining and Why is it Important?

Process mining is a technique used to map and analyze the flow of business processes using data from systems and applications. With process mining, you can see how a process actually works, which steps are being carried out, how long they take, who performs them, and what the outcomes are. This provides an objective, data-driven insight into the performance, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities of your processes.

Process mining is not just another reporting tool; it’s an analytical technique that helps you identify and address the root causes of problems. Unlike reporting tools, process mining provides information not only about the outcome of a process but also about its progression. This means you can see not only what happens but also why it happens.

Process mining leverages event logs, which are digital footprints recorded by systems every time an action is taken. These event logs contain information such as the timestamp, case, activity, performer, and sometimes the duration and outcome of the action. By combining these event logs using specialized software, you can create a visual overview of the process and its variations.

One advantage of process mining is that it visualizes processes in an accessible and understandable way. At a glance, you can see the "happy flow"—the process without disruptions—as well as the deviations from it. You can also identify where bottlenecks are, where lead times are too long, where quality is lacking, or where costs are too high.

Process mining can help you optimize and innovate your processes. You can use process mining to:

• Analyze and benchmark the current state of your processes.
• Design and simulate the desired state of your processes.
• Implement and monitor improvement actions for your processes.
• Enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of your processes and ensure their sustainability.

In summary, process mining is a powerful technique for improving processes based on data. It provides an objective, comprehensive, and up-to-date view of your processes, enabling you to make better decisions and create more value for your customers, employees, and stakeholders.