Choosing the Case Identifier
The most consequential decision in the project. A different identifier produces a different process, and the wrong one produces findings nobody recognises.
Procedure
The event log
Most of the difficulty in this field is producing a correct log. The case identifier and the activity vocabulary are the two decisions that determine what questions you can ask.
7 notes
Getting the Data Out
Where the events actually live, how to extract them without disrupting production, and the fields worth arguing for.
Procedure
Timestamps
Precision, ordering and time zones. The defects here produce plausible maps of processes that never happened.
Reference
Naming Activities
Granularity determines how many variants you find and whether anyone recognises the map. The abstraction decisions and how to make them deliberately.
Procedure
Profiling the Log First
Every log has the same defects. Finding them before drawing conclusions, because bad event data produces confident wrong maps.
Procedure
Where the Process Starts and Ends
A different boundary produces a different process and a different cycle time. Choosing it deliberately, and stating it with every figure.
Analysis
Incomplete and Long-Running Cases
Cases crossing the window boundary distort every duration. The two handling options, and why filtering flatters the cycle time.
Procedure