- Blog
What is process mining?
In his latest blog, Saurav Dey – one of Genpact's digital experts – answers some frequently asked questions about process mining.
Process mining is a new-age digital technology. It helps identify problems in a process by analyzing data from underlying systems. It uses algorithms to create a digital clone of a process – that shows what is and isn't working – to enable a data-driven approach to problem-solving.
Just as MRI machines transformed the diagnosis of medical conditions, process mining technology has transformed the diagnosis of problematic business processes.
Process mining generates recommendations based on fact – not opinion. This is especially valuable when it comes to robotic process automation (RPA). As Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, once said: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."
With that in mind, here are some of the benefits of process mining:
Unfortunately, if a process runs smoothly, customers are unlikely to notice it. Their experiences are often shaped by problematic processes.
Process mining offers greater control. It can predict process defects using historical data and send proactive alerts to employees so that they can work on issues before they become problems. This is invaluable to unlocking unprecedented process agility.
When process mining is used for a one-off diagnostic, it can spot process breakages and their impact on customer experience. By combining qualitative user insights with process mining, you get a 360-degree view of the pain points and bottlenecks your customers, employees, and partners are facing. Then, the path to designing better processes to improve customer experiences becomes much clearer.
Effective process mining requires two key elements:
It's important to remember that digital transformation built on minimal research will deliver minimal results. If you don't know your process well and what causes exceptions, you will sustain inefficiencies instead of eliminating them. Process mining lays out all exceptions and their root causes. This helps businesses build better digital transformation roadmaps – based on thorough research – to achieve more predictable results.
Process mining isn't new, but the rise of RPA and intelligent automation has increased its relevance. Process mining offers better guidance to businesses on what they should and should not automate. Companies are also recognizing multiple-use cases for process mining to manage day-to-day operations and become more agile and responsive to customer needs.
But remember – technology alone is not a silver bullet. You need technology combined with digital and industry expertise to realize maximum ROI. This is why the partnership between Celonis and Genpact is so valuable.
Learn more about the partnership between Celonis and Genpact.