Process Mining

In Windows, start the Disco application, and load the sample log: purchasingexample.csv

See which columns have been matched as:

• case ID
• activity / task (activiti)
• resource [mostly human resources – person] (resource)
• time [start / complete] (timestamp)

Then, import the data by clicking „Start import”.

Check the graph showing the sequence of completed tasks.

How the number of tasks and flows varies according to the changes of the Activities and Paths sliders:

Look for the answers to the following questions:

• Which task was most often performed?
• Where are the loops in the process?
• What is the most common scenario?

For the most advanced version of the model, click the „Animation” button and observe the bottleneck in the process.

Then, click on the Performance tab on the right-hand side of the window and see how the model has changed. Look for the answers to the following questions:

• Which task takes the longest time (on average) in the process?
• Before which task is the longest delay (waiting for the task)?

In the tab Statistics at the top, look for the answers to the following questions:

• How many variants (task sequences) can be observed in the process?
• What is the most common variant?
• Which task was performed the least often?
• Which of the most frequently performed tasks lasts the longest?

In tab Cases at the top, look for the answers to the following question:

• In what order the task are usually performed?

Using filters , look for the answers to the following questions:

• What is the most common process path? Choose only the most common variants (those that have at least 5 examples – cases).

• Are there any cases where the „Amend Request for Quotation” task is not performed?
  (left-click on the selected task and then filter by this task).

• How does the process look like for the shortest cases (up to 75 days)?
  • Which task takes the longest time?
  • What is the purpose of such a long process duration?

Export the event log in a standardized format that will be appropriate for the ProM tool.

In the Linux system, run ProM (ProM.sh in the /opt/ProM-5.2/ directory) and open the previously saved PurchasingExample event log.

If you use your own laptop, you can install the simplest ProM Lite version.

Then click „start analyzing this log” (or in other versions: play arrow), and then select one of the algorithms (double-click).

Check the results using various algorithms:

• Heuristic Miner
• Genetic Algorithm Plugin
• Alpha algorithm plugin

For some algorithms, setting some additional options are required. E.g., in the alpha algorithm, we need to determine which events in the event log start and end the task:

On the obtained Petri net, try to use conversion tools:

• Petri net reduction
• Labeled WF-net to EPC

Using some plugins you can also directly generate BPMN models.

Working in groups, please analyze (using any tool) the following event log documenting the phone repair process at the company:
http://www.processmining.org/_media/tutorial/repairexample.zip.

The group report should include:

• Propose a BPMN model that illustrates the process (justify the structure based on the process mining results – screenshot + parameters for a particular algorithm)
• Determine which tasks in the process have the longest waiting time.
• Include the most important/interesting observations and conclusions (justified by the results of the process discovery!).

Max. length of the report is 4 pages A4:!: (including relevant screenshots documented the lessons learned)

• Disco tour
• Disco process mining tutorial
• ProM tutorial