The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is more relevant today than ever, especially for companies undergoing digital transformation. Through process mining and visualization, companies can identify critical bottlenecks and take countermeasures.
Visualizing large amounts of operational data makes it easier to understand. And by visualizing processes, trends, patterns, and relationships can be easily depicted, and valuable insights can be extracted from the data.
Process mining is a technique aimed at extracting knowledge from information systems and transforming the extracted data into insights and actions . The information clarified by process mining is very useful in visualizing a company’s main business processes and realizing growth strategies.
Figure 1. Example of visualization map by process mining
See the example in Figure 1. Figure 1 is a map that visualizes the interrelationships between processes such as the flow of orders, deliveries, and billing by process mining. This visualization map is a snapshot of the relationship between various variations of orders, invoices, and deliveries.
The first critical step in any business transformation project is to get a clear picture of your business processes. However, as business processes evolve, stakeholders may not always be aware of all the steps involved in the business process, the various touchpoints and interactions, and everything that happens between the processes.
By creating a visualization map, every deviation, bottleneck, inefficiency, and even the most surprising complexity of your business process can be captured graphically, not as numbers on a spreadsheet. This kind of data visualization creates a stronger impact, helping companies turn data into a business case and take real action for improvement.
Utilization of process map
Process maps (visualization maps created by process mining) are based on analytical flows and can identify areas of focus where operational efficiencies need to be improved. When executing your growth strategy, you can use process maps to:
- Facilitate status quo: As a first step, process maps provide a quick picture of what the ‘as is’ process looks like. The goal is to understand the labor and other costs incurred at each step of the process. This allows you to see what work is actually being done.
- Identify bottlenecks: Looking at the underlying data, you may notice that a lot of manual work is occurring, for example, in the receivables task for reconciling incoming payments. Understanding and clearly visualizing these situations can help you make business decisions to automate parts of your accounts receivable process.
- Prepare for Fit to Standard Activities: Process maps help companies develop activities such as “Fit & Gap” or “Fit to Standard.” Visualize the standard process of your business and minimize the gaps in a standard way.
- Prioritizing the timing of business improvement: By using process maps, it is possible to focus on areas in need of change and prioritize the timing of driving digital transformation. You can identify areas where waste and inefficient processes exist and target those areas that will have the greatest impact.
Introduction of process map
The beauty of process mapping is that it integrates business processes and applications with technology departments to find solutions to many complex business problems. Process maps not only allow companies to see where they can improve, they also help them measure the return on their previous investments. This is especially important in ERP transformation projects.
As part of our SAP applications , DXC leverages process mining maps and visualizations to help companies plan transformations such as migration to S/4HANA. DXC examines data to gather information about transactions, performance, users, and other parameters such as order fulfillment to provide a factual and detailed assessment of your technology environment, as well as valuable insights to enable process improvements. provide excellent business intelligence.
There are many tools available to facilitate the collection of business data and the creation of process mining maps. In addition to leveraging its own data analytics intellectual property, DXC leverages software such as Signavio, a leader in enterprise business process intelligence acquired by SAP in early 2021, and IBIS Process Spectrum .
Another important benefit of process maps is that process mining tools can gather information across different applications. For example, if you enter a prospect’s information in Salesforce.com and then process an order in SAP, a process map can represent the entire end-to-end process that takes place across all applications.
Leveraging process mining and visualization to drive digital transformation
Think of using process maps to drive digital transformations such as S/4HANA like renovating your 20-year-old house. What will your house look like when you start tearing down the walls? How can the tool help develop a business case to justify the cost of building a new building? Just like renovating an old house, achieving your end goal requires a new way of thinking that aligns with your business vision.
If you’re not already using process maps, you’ll need the planning, skills, and resources to implement them. However, the investment in implementing a process mining map that provides diagrams and visual aids that serve as roadmaps for business improvement is definitely worth it.
