In today’s business world, things happen at lightning speed. If you can’t keep up with your competitors, then you risk losing market share to them. Process mining helps you find inefficiencies in your processes so you can make them more efficient, but it requires the right tools and techniques to get the most out of it. Although the tools and techniques you use will vary depending on the type of business operations you want to improve, there are a few universals to keep in mind as you get started. This article will give you an overview of the process mining techniques that your company can use to improve your business performance. It will also help you choose the one that fits your needs best. You will also learn about some of the most popular process mining tools available today, allowing you to make an informed decision about which tool is best for your business. So, let's get started!
Process mining Techniques
Every company's operations are centered on its business processes. Process mining techniques help you gain an understanding of your processes and the workflows that lead to the successful operation of your business. This lets you know how well these processes are working, what problems may exist within them, and how you can improve them to make your business run more smoothly. The technique an organization employs for process mining depends on the stage at which its process models are stored. The following are the most widely used process mining techniques:
Automated Process Discovery
Automated process discovery is a subset of process mining that defines the data-driven visualization of a process. It provides an intuitive, visual, and interactive method for exploring each and every step of processes in order to identify bottlenecks. It uses both machine learning and artificial intelligence to keep track of all the possible ways in which a process might be carried out and to suggest ways to automate them. As a result, process discovery aids in creating workflows and deploying automated processes quickly and efficiently.
The following are the steps involved in automated process discovery:
Data Extraction: Get data from a variety of sources in the form of event logs and performance metrics.
Event processing and mapping: Using the event logs, the collected data is analyzed and mapped out for each specific case. This is also the point at which process deviations appear. Variations are usually due to manual changes or errors.
Create "as-is" processes by combining events: To fully comprehend each process variation and the associated subprocesses, the generated process maps must be combined and visualized.
Conformance checking
Process mining makes use of event logs to show how a process works. Conformance checking is the process of comparing an actual process or event log to an existing reference model or target model. The event log and process model are used as inputs, and the output is diagnostic data showing the model's differences and similarities with the log. Event logs are examined for compliance with four main quality dimensions:
Fitness indicates how well the process model captures observed behavior.
Simplicity prevents models with excessive complexity.
Precision restricts process models that allow unlikely event log behavior.
Generalization refers to process models ability to generalize and recreate future behavior, rather than capturing each log trace.
All quality dimensions must be considered when evaluating a process model. Performing conformance tests will reveal any discrepancies between the actual process and the ideal process or reference model. This entails skipping, duplicating, or performing unplanned process activities. Inaccuracies in these processes can lead to audit issues and other regulatory violations. In addition, process deviations may necessitate additional resources or undermine product or service quality, making it more difficult to achieve the desired outcome. Because of this, the majority of process deviations lead to financial losses. Finding and correcting any unplanned process sequences is a top priority for businesses. In some cases, process adaptions require a shift in the target process model.
Performance Mining
This is sometimes called model enhancement, extension, or organizational mining. It is the process of analyzing a data-driven process model for potential optimization. The data-driven process paradigm uses a progress log. Depending on this information, changes or improvements are made. If these changes are not implemented correctly, they can have unintended consequences on the business.
Performance mining results reflect analysis quality and serve as a benchmark for future analysis. These results are used in process discovery and conformance checking methods.
Let's say we do a process mining analysis on a business process's log file. Through Process discovery and conformance checking methods, we discover a variety of process flaws such as bottlenecks, process loops, and undesired process deviations. Now, we know where to look and what to change.
We can make specific changes to our target model, which serves as a standard guideline for process implementation. This implies we adjust the process to alleviate bottlenecks or eliminate particular process sequences. Changes in processes may only be evaluated after they have been implemented for some time period. With performance mining, you can continuously improve your operations and make them more efficient.
Variant analysis
Variant analysis techniques compare two or more event logs from different business process variants to determine their differences.
Business processes can be analyzed from a distinct perspective using variant analysis techniques.
Control flow: Variants are compared based on the occurrence of activities in execution traces and their relative execution order.
Performance: Variants are compared based on performance measures.
Process variant analysis splits an event log into two sub-logs, each of which represents a cohort. The split can be carried out based on contextual data. Then, we can identify distinct process maps for each log file. Finally, we must compare these two process maps using various metrics (such as performance and control flow) in order to assist analysts in identifying differences.
A Comprehensive List of Process Mining tools
Process mining tools are largely used by organizations that want to optimize their processes, conform existing processes to certain specifications, create harmony between distinct processes, or get future predictions regarding their processes. Process mining tools can help you collect data about your processes and then use that data to find ways to improve them in real time, which will ultimately lead to better outcomes across the board. The following is a list of the most widely used process mining tools.
- ABBYY Timeline
ABBYY Timeline is a cloud-based, AI-driven process mining platform that enables businesses to develop a visual model of their processes, analyze them in real-time to detect bottlenecks, and predicting possible results to help with technology investment decisions. It is aimed to benefit healthcare providers, insurance corporations, banks, and other similar entities in optimizing their internal operations. A transparent pricing procedure, analytics, data integration, and the ability to scale quickly are just a few of the features featured in this intelligent solution.
- ARIS Cloud Process Mining
ARIS Cloud is a process-centric management solution that offers process mining solutions. It is accessible and versatile, allowing for additional resources to be deployed as needed. ARIS Cloud includes features such as process versioning, release cycle management, content merging, social collaboration, document management, and customer journey mapping in addition to process design, modeling conventions, method filters, content languages, and process versioning. There are multiple levels of service packages available, from free trials to high-end cloud services to enterprise clouds.
- Apromore Advanced Process Automation Solution
Apromore is an open-source, collaborative platform for business process analytics that supports the entire spectrum of process mining capabilities. The goals of this platform are to enhance the customer experience by exposing and visualizing real-time business processes, as well as to monitor process compliance. Open-source solutions are typically robust because they are designed to meet the needs of the community. Businesses that require more in-depth assistance may be required to implement a commercial solution.
- bupaR
bupaR is an open-source suite of R-packages for managing and analyzing business process data. bupaR offers support for various stages of process analysis, including importing and pre-processing event data, calculating, descriptive statistics, process visualization, and conformance checking. This platform is appropriate for businesses that prefer to handle their own process solutions management. The entry barrier may be higher than other desktop solutions. Often, bupaR is used as a foundation for a larger system.
- Celonis
Celonis is a powerful and capable process mining suite that collects and analyzes IT data in order to generate actionable insights. It is used to identify and fix operational flaws, making the overall operation more effective. Visual reporting is used by Celonis to help find problems in existing processes. It creates a process flowchart of the company's processes by tracing any IT-supported activities. After that, they'll create models for the best solutions and the various variants that are currently being used. You can view the complete company's operations in real time, including all active processes.
- Datapolis Process Intelligence
Datapolis is a powerful workflow toolkit that unifies process management with data mining. Graphical designs, quick change management, business information, reporting, and integration to Office 365 and SharePoint are just a few of the features offered by Datapolis. This is an enterprise-level tool that offers complete business analytics and monitoring features in addition to process mining.
- Fujitsu Process Analytics Software
Fujitsu provides a comprehensive business process management solution that features process management, process analytics, and a business process discovery service. Automated process discovery services give a real-time, end-to-end view of processes, showing problems like bottlenecks and delays. Activity monitoring lets users control the flow of processes in real time and see, analyze, and improve their own processes.
- Icaro Tech EverFlow
Icaro Tech EverFlow uses log entries to provide an in-depth look at business processes, with simple visualizations. Using analytics, an organization can find potential inefficiencies and bottlenecks, and advanced analysis can lead to the discovery of new processes that can be implemented. Icaro Tech EverFlow can be utilized for field services, operational processes, value-added processes, asset management, and IT service management.
- Kofax Insight
Kofax analyzes how your processes affect customer satisfaction and profit. This solution incorporates a user analysis interface, process visibility, analytics. As a unified platform, Kofax Insight is powerful for business analytics. The analytics server, metrics server, and dashboard server are combined in a single system. It offers a drag-and-drop interface that requires no scripting and is simple to use. New users are guided through the analysis step-by-step, and the environment is customizable.
- LANA Process Mining
LANA Process Mining, a suite of automation and process management tools, is intended to assist organizations in taking advantage of digital transformation. LANA Process Mining features include automatic root-cause analysis and KPI monitoring to name a few.
- Minit
Minit creates maps of processes that are both visual and interactive so that companies can see how their processes work in real time and innovate with improvements. Minit is all about how people, machines, and software interact with each other. It can be used to enhance the overall structure of a company's technology infrastructure. This is the solution for you, if you want something that has been thoroughly vetted and well-documented.
- PAFNow Process Mining
The PAFNow platform emphasizes simplicity and ease of use. It's not a free fix, but it's not overly expensive either. Microsoft Business Intelligence provides additional functionality and support by integrating it. PAFNow is a three-stage process that begins with discovery (analyzes your business processes), continues with conformance (reveals insights from actual event logs), and ends with enhancement. Power BI and PAFNow can work together to improve data mining capabilities.
- ProM
ProM is a free, cross-platform desktop application designed specifically for process mining. The platform's adaptability and scalability are enhanced by the availability of plug-ins, and creators are encouraged to contribute new solutions. Both ProM and any solutions developed on top of it are freely available under the GPL license. ProM provides real-time monitoring and analysis of business processes and includes a number of free, interactive online training modules. If you're new to process mining, you'll benefit greatly from the community and the free online courses. ProM Lite, ProM, ProM 6, RapidProM, and ProM 5.2 are just some of the different iterations available. A business may choose to use a stripped-down version or an older version if that's what's best for its needs. Due to its open-source nature, ProM can be adapted to meet the specific requirements of any business.
- QPR Process Analyzer
QPR Process Analyzer is designed to pinpoint problems in the logistics process, with a special emphasis on supply chain management through the use of logging and time stamps. QPR Process Analyzer allows users to monitor the entire logistics and handling process, from procurement to transportation to delivery.
- Worksoft Analyze
Worksoft Analyze is an all-inclusive process discovery solution that can be used to record and verify the quality of newly developed procedures. The convenience of this cloud-based service is its portability. In addition to automating the discovery of processes, we can also generate documentation for them without human intervention and streamline testing procedures. In order to boost productivity and lower risk, businesses are increasingly turning to automated process analysis.
Moreover, businesses can save time previously spent on documentation and redirect that effort toward improving the quality of their processes. Worksoft Analyze is great for investigating previously unexplored processes or bringing businesses up to date on regulatory requirements.
- SAP Signavio Process Transformation Suite
SAP Signavio is a portfolio of products designed to streamline operational procedures and facilitate organizational transformation. This web-based service requires little setup, and it can be tested out for free before committing to a full subscription. Signavio Process Intelligence's web-based platform makes it a valuable tool because it enables users to access their data from any location, making it ideal for modeling, analysis, and improvement. With the help of a collaborative solution like Signavio, businesses and their employees can easily work together to boost process efficiency while also analyzing the full cost of operations.
Unlock the value of your processes for business
The core of any successful business is its processes. By analyzing trends and gleaning insights into the inner workings of your processes, process mining can help you gain a deeper understanding of your business and its operations. There is a wide variety of process mining tools available, each with its own set of benefits and pitfalls. In order to make an informed choice regarding the tools that will best serve your company, it is important to familiarize yourself with their features, capabilities, and constraints. For a comprehensive strategy that integrates process mining into your broader business transformation efforts, explore our guide on Digital Transformation Strategy: 8 Key Components.
Qentelli gives you a bird's-eye view of your business, from start to finish, allowing you to make better, informed decisions. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how Qentelli can support comprehensive fact-based analysis throughout your whole organization, please drop a note at info@qentelli.com
