Welcome to another edition of Feature Highlights! Today, we’re diving into a groundbreaking feature of the Noreja Process Intelligence application: Cardinalities. Unique to the world of Object-Centric Process Mining (OCPM), Cardinalities offer a dynamic way to visualize and understand the multifaceted nature of your business processes. This feature is designed to show you how multiple instances of a single step – what we term as divergent and convergent behavior – play out in real scenarios.
Here’s a specific case we’ve searched out from our trusty teaching dataset. Here, the cardinality notation floats above each transition, which you can toggle on and off. This particular case also shows an intermediate abort, but we’ll save that for a later article.
Here, we see all instances of activities and transitions that occurred in this case. It’s like looking at the DNA of your business process. For example, one order might create ten separate order positions in your client’s order management system. Of these, five might be processed in a single picking step, while the rest take different routes. This visualization helps in pinpointing bottlenecks and understanding workflow diversities.
To improve the clarity and glance value of these charts, we have icons that represent each kind of convergent or divergent activity. Diamonds indicate normal activities, stemming from one prior activity and leading to a single subsequent activity. “Leftwards arrows” show divergent activities, where one activity leads to multiple subsequent ones. “Rightwards arrows” represent convergent activities, where multiple preceding activities culminate in a single subsequent one. And the hourglass? That’s for “con/div” activities, where both divergence and convergence occur.
As a possible use case for this feature, consider this example: by enabling duration highlighting, we can quickly see indicators that convergent and divergent activities often add complexity to your process, as indicated by longer durations compared to one-to-one transitions. This might suggest waiting times where one task is dependent on the completion of another, or other complexities that arise from concurrent processing. In such cases, individual processing might be more efficient than batching. However, remember, tools like ours provide indicators that should be validated with on-the-ground observations.
Object-centric process mining (OCPM), a term you might be hearing more of, is an advanced form of process mining. Unlike traditional models, it doesn’t just follow the sequential flow of activities. Instead, it looks at the objects – orders, invoices, deliveries – and how they move and transform throughout your business processes. This approach is incredibly powerful for industries where processes are not linear but interwoven and multifaceted.
Process cardinalities, a hallmark feature of our specific approach to OCPM, allow you to see how single steps in your process can branch out or converge. It’s about understanding the ‘many-to-many’ relationships in your operations. For instance, how does one customer order impact various departments? Or how do multiple quality checks converge to finalize a product?
Cardinalities in Noreja Process Intelligence aren’t just theoretical concepts; they have practical, real-world applications that can revolutionize the way you manage and optimize your business processes. Here are some tangible examples:
Noreja Process Intelligence, equipped with these features, isn’t just a tool. It’s a trusted partner in your journey to operational excellence. It offers transparency into the intricate workings of your processes, builds trust in your data-driven decisions, and fosters a culture where continuous improvement is not just a goal but a reality.
Remember, whether you’re a seasoned process manager or new to this field, our aim is to make these concepts accessible and actionable. We’re passionate about helping businesses like yours unlock their true potential, one process step at a time. If these features excite you as much as they excite us, reach out and we’ll do our best to find the perfect use case for process mining in your business.