On the representational bias in process mining

Process mining serves a bridge between data mining and business process modeling. The goal is to extract process related knowledge from event data stored in information systems. One of the most challenging process mining tasks is process discovery, i.e., the automatic construction of process models from raw event logs. Today there are dozens of process discovery techniques generating process models using different notations (Petri nets, EPCs, BPMN, heuristic nets, etc.). This paper focuses on the representational bias used by these techniques. We will show that the choice of target model is very important for the discovery process itself. The representational bias should not be driven by the desired graphical representation but by the characteristics of the underlying processes and process discovery techniques. Therefore, we analyze the role of the representational bias in process mining

Unfolding-Based Process Discovery

This paper presents a novel technique for process discovery. In contrast to the current trend, which only considers an event log for discovering a process model, we assume two additional inputs: an independence relation on the set of logged activities, and a collection of negative traces. After deriving an intermediate net unfolding from them, we perform a controlled folding giving rise to a Petri net which contains both the input log and all independence-equivalent traces arising from it. Remarkably, the derived Petri net cannot execute any trace from the negative collection. The entire chain of transformations is fully automated. A tool has been developed and experimental results are provided that witness the significance of the contribution of this paper.Comment: This is the unabridged version of a paper with the same title appearead at the proceedings of ATVA 201

Improving hospital layout planning through clinical pathway mining

Clinical pathways (CPs) are standardized, typically evidence-based health care processes. They define the set and sequence of procedures such as diagnostics, surgical and therapy activities applied to patients. This study examines the value of data-driven CP mining for strategic healthcare management. When assigning specialties to locations within hospitals—for new hospital buildings or reconstruction works—the future CPs should be known to effectively minimize distances traveled by patients. The challenge is to dovetail the prediction of uncertain CPs with hospital layout planning. We approach this problem in three stages: In the first stage, we extend a machine learning algorithm based on probabilistic finite state automata (PFSA) to learn significant CPs from data captured in hospital information systems. In that stage, each significant CP is associated with a transition probability. A unique feature of our approach is that we can generalize the data and include those CPs which have not been observed in the data but which are likely to be followed by future patients according to the pathway probabilities obtained from the PFSA. At the same time, rare and non-significant CPs are filtered out. In the second stage, we present a mathematical model that allows us to perform hospital layout planning decisions based on the CPs, their probabilities and expert knowledge. In the third stage, we evaluate our approach based on different performance measures. Our case study results based on real-world hospital data reveal that using our CP mining approach, distances traveled by patients can be reduced substantially as compared to using a baseline method. In a second case study, when using our approach for reconstructing a hospital and incorporating expert knowledge into the planning, existing layouts can be improved

Model-Agnostic process modelling

Modeling techniques in Business Process Management often suffer from low adoption due to the variety of profiles found in organizations. This project aims to provide a novel alternative to BPM documentation, ATD, based on annotated process descriptions in natural language

Process mining with ProM

The primary purpose of this diploma is to demonstrate the use of process mining on a real life case and also to explore advantages and disadvantages of process mining. The theoretical part presents in detail the purposes and reasons of applying process mining to organizations, different algorithms for process mining, and some possible process models for representation of processes. The last chapter in theoretical part presents the ProM tool, which is used for process mining, and also other popular tools. The last part is practical part, which shows the usage of process mining techniques on a real life example. As a result of analysis with program ProM, we get different models, networks and graphs, which we can then use to analyze the process

Distributed Load Testing by Modeling and Simulating User Behavior

Modern human-machine systems such as microservices rely upon agile engineering practices which require changes to be tested and released more frequently than classically engineered systems. A critical step in the testing of such systems is the generation of realistic workloads or load testing. Generated workload emulates the expected behaviors of users and machines within a system under test in order to find potentially unknown failure states. Typical testing tools rely on static testing artifacts to generate realistic workload conditions. Such artifacts can be cumbersome and costly to maintain; however, even model-based alternatives can prevent adaptation to changes in a system or its usage. Lack of adaptation can prevent the integration of load testing into system quality assurance, leading to an incomplete evaluation of system quality. The goal of this research is to improve the state of software engineering by addressing open challenges in load testing of human-machine systems with a novel process that a) models and classifies user behavior from streaming and aggregated log data, b) adapts to changes in system and user behavior, and c) generates distributed workload by realistically simulating user behavior. This research contributes a Learning, Online, Distributed Engine for Simulation and Testing based on the Operational Norms of Entities within a system (LODESTONE): a novel process to distributed load testing by modeling and simulating user behavior. We specify LODESTONE within the context of a human-machine system to illustrate distributed adaptation and execution in load testing processes. LODESTONE uses log data to generate and update user behavior models, cluster them into similar behavior profiles, and instantiate distributed workload on software systems. We analyze user behavioral data having differing characteristics to replicate human-machine interactions in a modern microservice environment. We discuss tools, algorithms, software design, and implementation in two different computational environments: client-server and cloud-based microservices. We illustrate the advantages of LODESTONE through a qualitative comparison of key feature parameters and experimentation based on shared data and models. LODESTONE continuously adapts to changes in the system to be tested which allows for the integration of load testing into the quality assurance process for cloud-based microservices

Use of Audit Data to Improve the Supply Chain Performance

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceIn the last decades, globalization and digitalization were two of the main reasons for the increase of complexity in supply chains, altering the industries due to the massive amount of information available. This complexity started to become harmful for the companies that do not understand how to use data and information as their competitive advantage, increasing the risk and costs associated with their processes, and decreasing effectiveness and efficiency. We look for the concept and area of internal auditing and process mining techniques as a solution to revert this situation. While research has focused on different and mostly narrow aspects in these areas and solution-oriented and more practical approaches can be found and applied to a broader environment, a practical solution that incorporates these areas into the supply chain are hard to find. Therefore, following a design science research methodology, this study proposes an iterative framework that consists of a guide for an organization that wants to incorporate new technologies into their processes in the supply chain while making the best out of the massive amount of information available using internal auditing and focus on process mining techniques. The framework provides a chain of steps that can be adapted by the company during the transformational process, guaranteeing a smooth transition away from the traditional systems to a more modern and flexible architecture