How can I effectively utilize Conformance Checker in Celonis to model processes with high variability?
Hello,
I am dealing with a highly complex process that presents a significant number of variants. The only data source available to me for understanding this process is an event log. This log consists of various activities that represent different actions within my process. However, these activities do not perfectly capture the underlying operations. For instance, one activity might represent multiple actions, or an activity with the same name might represent slightly different actions at different stages of the process. Unfortunately, it's the only data source I have for now. The event log reveals almost as many variances as there are cases, which complicates my analysis.
My goal is to use a conformance checker to create a process model that accurately represents at least half of the cases in my data, with the aim of identifying and analyzing the remaining deviations. This analysis will help me develop an effective improvement strategy. To achieve this, I plan to develop my BPMN model from the available data by selecting the 'mine the target process' option from the conformance tab. However, due to the high number of variations in the data, I often end up with a process picture that is nearly incomprehensible.
In my opinion, the process variations stem from several factors:
- There are activities that can occur at any point and may repeat throughout the normal flow, leading to loops that complicate the variance explorer.
- I prefer to maintain flexibility in my business process, allowing some activities to occur in different orders.
- The process involves three main objects—A, B, and C—with activities typically performed independently for each object. However, certain activities require inputs from another object, indicating that while activities generally proceed in parallel across different objects, they are interconnected at specific junctures.
Given these dynamics, what is the best way to proceed with the conformance checker? I have also heard about Object-Centric Process Mining (OCPM) but am not familiar with it. Would it be advantageous to explore OCPM for managing my process, or can I address these challenges adequately with the conformance checker?
I am quite new to Celonis and the conformance checker, so any ideas or suggestions would be very helpful.
Thank you.