Lesson 4 of 6
Process Intelligence: full process mining
9 min
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Process Insights answers standard questions about standard SAP processes. When the question is specific ("why do Great Lakes Fleet Services orders shipped from Chicago take twice as long?"), when the process spans SAP and non-SAP systems, or when you want to check cases against your own model, you need SAP Signavio Process Intelligence. It is a full process mining product, and it is usually licensed separately.
How it works
- Data: extract data from SAP and other systems through connectors, or upload files, and transform it into an event log: case ID, activity, timestamp, plus attributes.
- Process: define a process in Process Intelligence on that event log.
- Investigations: analysts build investigations made of widgets (process discovery, variant explorer, charts, tables) organized in chapters with findings.
- Conformance: link a BPMN model from Process Manager and check which cases follow it and where they deviate.
- Metrics and queries: define metrics with SAP Signavio's query language, SIGNAL, for custom questions.
Insights or Intelligence?
- Is the question about a standard SAP process and covered by prebuilt indicators?Yes → start with Process Insights · No → next question
- Does the process span non-SAP systems or custom objects?Yes → Process Intelligence · No → next question
- Do you need conformance against your own model or analysis of specific variants?Yes → Process Intelligence · No → Process Insights is likely enough
Process owners rarely build investigations themselves. Their job is to ask precise questions, validate that the event log reflects their process, and act on the findings. A good owner question names the process, the population, the comparison and the decision it will inform: "For order-to-cash in sales area 1710 / 10 / 00 over the last two quarters, which variants lead to invoices later than five days after goods issue, and is the cause in credit, delivery or billing?"
Conformance against the owner's model
Conformance checking compares each case with the published BPMN model and flags steps that are missing, repeated, added or out of order. This is where models from lesson 2 pay off: a governed, current model becomes the yardstick for real behavior. At Contoso (illustrative course data), conformance on supplier invoices showed that 14% of invoices over the approval threshold were posted without the approval step the model requires, all from one plant's cost center. That is a control finding for Dan and Nadia, not just an efficiency one.
| Finding type | Example | Owner's next step |
|---|---|---|
| Control deviation | Approval skipped above threshold | Raise with security and GRC; check authorizations and workflow configuration |
| Rework | Price changed after order for 7% of orders | Root cause: condition records or quoting process |
| Waiting time | Credit blocks held more than two days | Agree a service level with the credit team; monitor it |
| Unused standard | Feature configured but bypassed | Training or redesign |
Mining findings sorted by type, each with a different owner action.
Writing a good owner question
| Weak question | Strong question |
|---|---|
| "Show me order-to-cash." | "For sales area 1710 / 10 / 00 in the last two quarters, which variants invoice later than five days after goods issue, and why?" |
| "Are approvals working?" | "Which supplier invoices above the approval threshold were posted without the approval step, by plant and cost center?" |
| "Why is Chicago slow?" | "Compare lead time from order to goods issue for plant 1720 and 1710 for the same products; where is the difference?" |
Precise questions name the population, period, comparison and decision.
Owners should also ask how the event log was built: which documents define the case, which activities exist, and which come from change records. An investigation is only as good as its data model. Asking for five sample cases, checked in the system with the document flow, is the cheapest quality check there is.
What would you do?
An analyst shows Dan a process map of supplier invoices with 400 variants and says "here is your process". Dan wants a decision by month end. What should he ask for?
- Process Intelligence mines event logs from SAP and non-SAP sources, with investigations, variants and conformance.
- Start with Process Insights for standard questions; use Intelligence for specific, cross-system or conformance questions.
- Owners ask precise questions and validate findings with sample cases.
- Conformance against a governed model turns mining into control evidence.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What does conformance checking need besides event data?
2. What is an investigation in Process Intelligence?
3. When is Process Intelligence the better choice?
4. What should be checked before acting on a finding?