Six key considerations for successful process mining

Though we may not always be aware of it, we are constantly interacting with processes that organizations rely on to keep their operations running smoothly.  For this or any other process, as long as things run smoothly, there’s little to worry about.  But when you start to notice delays, discrepancies, bottlenecks, or other issues that impact the efficiency of your processes, the situation needs to be rectified before it causes financial or reputational harm.  But when processes are long-running and complex, how do you pinpoint exactly where the issues are? 

Process mining allows you to analyze your processes – down to the individual tasks – and creates a visualization that depicts how work flows, where it gets stalled, where tasks are repeated or skipped, or where unnecessary steps are added.  This visual format makes it easier to identify the issues and guide your optimization initiatives. 

So how do you get started with process mining?  Before embarking on a project in your organization, consider these six key recommendations to increase your chances of success.

• Take a fact-based approach to increase your chances of success
• Be strategic and tactical, or “stractical”
• Don’t ignore modeling/engineering skills
• Think continuous–not one time
• Focus on quick data rather than big data
• Use simulation and prediction to generate enterprise value.