This page applies to business users. It describes how to gain a deeper understanding of an individual business process.
OverviewCopy link to clipboard
In Process HQ, exploring a process helps you get familiar with how the process actually operates before you start drilling down into specific patterns and issues in the workflow.
How to exploreCopy link to clipboard
To start exploring, simply click the name of the process in the process list.
Business processes can be complex, so we initially present you with your data at the highest level.
For example, here's a process page, showing you all data associated with the process:
Here we recommend that you:
- Review the process diagram to get a sense of the process structure.
- Review the list of case attributes to acquaint yourself with the common characteristics of the process.
- Review the list of cases to see the specific cases that underpin the analysis you're viewing.
By default, we present your process data unrestricted by time period, but as you identify what you want to focus on, set the time period accordingly.
Next, take a look at what the system is automatically highlighting about this process by reviewing the system-provided All Cases view and its pinned KPIs.
You can also check out what your fellow analysts have identified as important:
- Views and KPIs pinned to process and view pages.
- Conformance and cost analysis configured in view pages.
- Saved insights in view and KPI pages.
Exploring starts at the process level, but as you understand your process better, you can start to create your own views and KPIs and continue exploring at those levels.
The common elements of the process, view, and KPI pages mean you can easily compare data at different levels.
You can also start looking closer at specific characteristics by viewing details about a process part or a case attribute value.
Then, at the view and KPI levels, you can also take the next step in improving your process: drilling down on those specific characteristics of the process to take advantage of the advanced analysis Process HQ offers.
Where to exploreCopy link to clipboard
The table below summarizes elements that are common to each level you can explore—process, view, and KPI pages. The table also calls out elements that are only available at a specific level.
Element |
Process |
View |
KPI |
|---|---|---|---|
Section: EXPLORE DATA |
|||
Section: PINNED VIEWS |
|||
Views |
|||
Section: PINNED KPIS |
|||
KPIs |
|||
Current contextCopy link to clipboard
As you're exploring, keep in mind that the data you see depends on the current context.
The current context consists of the filters inherited from higher-level pages, including the time period that's currently set.
The context changes automatically as you move from process page to view page to KPI page, showing you an increasingly filtered set of data.
Set the time periodCopy link to clipboard
By default, the time period for the data you see as you explore is All Time.
As you identify specific periods of time to focus on, you can use the Time Period option to set a more relevant period. This option is present in the header of any process page, view page, or KPI page.
The time period you select lasts for the current session of the process, even when you switch pages within the process. At the end of your session, the time period returns to the default range of All Time.
The time period you have selected when you save an insight helps to define the insight. Learn more about insights.
To set the time period for data on the current page:
-
In the page header, click the Time Period value. A dropdown list of time periods displays.
-
Select one of the predefined time periods, or select Custom Date Range and specify From and To dates.
Note: When selecting a time period, keep in mind the dates of the process data available to you. For example, if you select Last Month but data is only available for the first two weeks of the month, you will see only see two weeks of data.
Review the process diagramCopy link to clipboard
The Process Diagram tab in the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS PROCESS section allows you to see how the process actually operates. This tool allows you to understand the standard flow of your process and, importantly, identify where the process occurs in atypical or alternative ways.
The process diagram is composed of the following elements:
- Activities are the actions that occur in your business process such as Order Received or Payment Made. An activity is represented by a node in the diagram. A count of activity occurrences displays above each node. This count is accompanied by the average duration of the activity if your event data includes a start timestamp and an end timestamp.
- Sequences are the unique flow from one activity to the next in the business process. Collectively, all sequences in the process represent the execution of the process from start to finish. A sequence is represented by a connector in the diagram. A count of sequence occurrences and the average duration of the sequence display on each connector.
You can start drilling down by clicking on parts of the process diagram:
- Any connector in the diagram.
- Any activity node if your event data includes a start timestamp and an end timestamp.
The size of the activity nodes and the connectors between them represent how frequently the activity or sequence occurred. This helps you quickly see how often activities occur in relation to one another.
For example:
- Activity Frequency: If one activity occurs 200 times and another occurs 100 times, the radius of the activity node that occurs 200 times is twice as large as the radius of the activity node that occurs 100 times.
- Sequence Frequency: If 500 cases follow the sequence between one activity node and another, the connector for that sequence is 5 times thicker than a connector that only 100 cases follow.
In addition, the color of a connector or activity node represents the average duration of the sequence or activity based on the minimum and maximum values in the process data. Connectors with an average duration closer to the minimum are blue, and connectors with an average duration closer to the maximum are red. The color of activity nodes follows this same pattern if your event data includes start and end timestamps, but is uniformly blue if your event data includes a single timestamp.
The process diagram can be very complex for certain processes, so you can progressively show more detail.
Overview displays only the most common activities and sequences in your business process. For example:
As you navigate from Basic through Advanced, the diagram includes more sequences where activities were skipped, looped, or repeated.
Full displays all sequences in your business process. For example:
By default, the Basic version of the diagram is active when you open a process view.
View process part detailsCopy link to clipboard
You can view details for an activity or sequence by clicking on a node or connector in the process diagram. These details give you the key information you need to understand how the selected activity or sequence affects the process and decide if you need to drill down further.
The data you see in the details dialog depends on the current context.
For example:
The process part details dialog includes the following elements:
-
Metrics: Relevant statistics for this part of the process within the current context:
Metric
Description
Cases with occurrences
The total number of cases that include this activity or sequence, along with what percent those cases are of all cases in the current context. In the image above, for example, 6,374 cases include a financial review and make up 100% of cases in the current view.
Occurrences
The total number of times the activity or sequence occurs in the cases in the current context. In the above image, for example, the Financial Review activity occurs 8,465 times in cases associated with this view.
Because activities and sequences can occur multiple times in a single case, occurrences are typically a higher number than the associated case count. Depending on the expected structure of your process, a higher occurrence count may indicate rework and a process inefficiency you can work to improve.
Avg. occurrences per case
The average number of times the activity or sequence occurs in each case in the current context. In the image above, for exapmle, the Financial Review activity occurred an average of 1.32 times in cases associated with this view.
Duration (Average)
The average duration of this activity or sequence when it occurs in cases in the current context. In the image above, for example, the Financial Review activity takes an average of 29 minutes and 57 seconds.
Total Duration
The total duration of all occurrences of this part in cases in the current context. In the image above, for example, it took your organization a total of 5 months and 3 weeks to handle all occurrences of the Financial Review activity.
-
Duration Comparison: The Duration Comparison chart, which compares the duration of the selected activity or sequence to the duration of other activities or sequences associated with cases in the current context.
-
KPI Preview: (View page only) A preview version of a KPI for this process part, including an initial KPI value and trend chart based on all occurrences of the process part in cases associated with the current context.
-
START DRILLING DOWN: Click this button to start drilling down on the process part. This button is only present if you're viewing details in a view page.
Review case attributesCopy link to clipboard
The Case Attributes tab of the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS PROCESS section lists attributes for cases in this view in the selected date range.
If you have a lot of attributes and want to narrow down what you see, select the checkboxes next to specific attributes in the Search pane. The table will update to display only the attribute values that match your selection.
For example:
View attribute value detailsCopy link to clipboard
In the case attributes list, click an attribute value to view a details dialog for that value. These details give you the key information you need to understand how the selected attribute affects the process and decide if you need to drill down further.
The data you see in the details dialog depends on the current context.
The details dialog includes the following elements:
Element |
Description |
|
|---|---|---|
1 |
Potential Reduction section |
(KPI page only) Estimates the potential time saved each year if cases with the selected attribute were improved to meet the target duration in the current context. Learn more about this calculation. |
2 |
Metrics section |
Displays relevant data points to aid in assessment, including:
|
3 |
Visualizations tabs |
Offers new perspectives on the attribute data in the following tabs:
|
4 |
START DRILLING DOWN button |
(KPI page only) Start drilling down on the case attribute. This button is only present if you're viewing details in a KPI page. |
Review the case listCopy link to clipboard
To view a list of cases, go to the Case List tab in any process, view, or KPI page.
The cases you see in the list depend on the current context.
Use the search box to search the list by case ID.
For example:
The case list consists of the following standard columns:
Column |
Description |
|---|---|
Case ID |
The unique identifier of the case. |
Start |
The timestamp of the first activity in the case. |
End |
The timestamp of the last activity in the case. |
Duration |
The time the case took to complete; that is, the length of time between the first activity in the case and the last activity in the case. |
Total Activity Duration |
The total time spent completing activities in this case. This value is only available if your event data includes a start timestamp and an end timestamp. Otherwise, this value cannot be calculated and appears as zero. |
Total Sequence Duration |
The total amount of process time spent moving between activities. For example, in a Customer Onboarding process, this total would include the time spent between the end of one activity (a Know Your Customer review) and the start of the next activity (Financial Document Verification). This value can only be meaningfully calculated if your event data includes a start timestamp and an end timestamp. Otherwise, this value is equal to the case duration. |
Additional columns appear in the list for each attribute included in the process.
Review views and KPIsCopy link to clipboard
On the process page, the PINNED VIEWS section displays the system-provided All Cases view and any views that you or your colleagues pinned to the process page.
For each pinned view, you'll see previews of the KPIs pinned to that view.
For example:
Early on in your organization's exploration of this process, the PINNED VIEWS section is likely to contain only the default All Cases view with previews of the system-provided KPIs.
As you get to know your process better, it will become clearer how you want to divide your cases into segments for deeper analysis. For each useful segment, you can create a custom view and pin it to the Process page for easy access. You can also see all views associated with a process by going to the All Views tab of a process page.
As you identify characteristics of your cases that you want to track, you can also create your own KPIs and customize which KPIs display for each pinned view.
Tip: To review all KPIs in a process, access the All Cases view, then go to the All KPIs tab of the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS PROCESS section.
Review conformance and costsCopy link to clipboard
If your organization has defined the expected activity order and activity costs for a process, the Conformance and Costs tab on each view page provides the following information:
- Conformance rate: How often activities occur in the order you expect.
- Cost: How much money those activities collectively cost your organization.
- Automation rate: How often activities were performed by an automation.
At the top of the tab, you'll see the following system-provided KPIs:
Next, you'll see a breakdown of conformance rate, cost, and automation rate by activity.
This breakdown can display as either a grid or a chart. To toggle between displays, click the icon in the top right corner of the tab.
The toggle is only available if activity costs and the expected activity order are defined for the process.
Grid displayCopy link to clipboard
The grid display consists of a list of the unique activities in your process, along with activity-related statistics.
For example:
This grid contains the following columns:
Column |
Description |
|---|---|
Activity |
The activity for which the statistics are calculated. An activity is the action that occurs in your business process. |
Duration |
How long (on average) the activity takes when it occurs in cases in this view. |
Activity Count |
The number of times the activity occurs in cases in this view. |
Cost |
The total cost of all occurrences of the activity in the current view. This calculation is based on the individual activity costs defined for the process. |
Conformance Rate |
The percentage of activities in the view that are occurring in the expected order. This calculation is based on the expected activity order defined for the process. |
Automation Rate |
The percentage of activities in the view that were performed by an automation. This calculation is based on the number of events with an Automation attribute. |
Chart displayCopy link to clipboard
The bubble chart format allows you to identify activities that could benefit from improvement at a glance.
The chart displays information about the total cost of activities in relation to the percentage of activities that did not follow the expected sequence order.
The bubble chart is only available if activity costs and the expected activity order are defined for the process.
For example:
This chart contains the following elements:
- Total Cost (Y-axis): The total cost of the activity.
- Conformance Rate (X-axis): The conformance rate of the activity.
- Bubble: Each bubble represents an activity. An icon in the bubble represents the automation type based on Automation Type attributes. The size of the bubble reflects how often the activity occurred in all cases in this view.
Hover over a bubble to see:
- The name of the activity.
- The percentage of activities that conform to the expected sequence order in this view.
- The total cost of all occurrences of this activity.
- The number of times the activity occurred in all cases in this view.
For example:
Review saved insightsCopy link to clipboard
Reviewing insights related to your process can help you understand aspects of the process that your colleagues may already be focusing on. These insights can highlight characteristics you might want to continue drilling down on or start collaborating on right away.
To review insights, access a view, then go to the All Insights tab in the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS VIEW section of the view page.
This tab lists saved insights for all KPIs in that view, displaying in order of the insight creation date.
For example:
By default, the list is sorted by date modified from newest to oldest. You can also sort by oldest to newest.
On the All Insights tab, you can use the search box to search for an insight by name. The results of your search replace the current insights list.
Tip: To view saved insights for a specific KPI, access the KPI, then go to the Insights tab of the KPI page. That tab contains saved insights related to just that KPI in the same list format as the All Insights tab.