Process Mining Use Cases
Process mining use cases show how organizations use event data to understand real process behavior, identify issues, and support improvement decisions across functions and industries.
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Process mining use cases help you understand where process mining delivers value in practice. If you are exploring process mining, you are typically in the process discovery phase—looking to move from assumptions and documentation to an objective view of how processes actually run.
Within the broader business process management discipline, process mining is used to reconstruct real process flows from event data, identify deviations, and highlight improvement opportunities that are difficult to see through workshops alone. This page focuses on how organizations apply process mining to answer concrete business questions across different functions and industries.
You can use these use cases to identify relevant opportunities in your own organization and understand how process mining insights support process analysis, BPM initiatives, and transformation decisions.
What defines a good process mining use case
Not every process question is a good fit for process mining. Strong process mining use cases start with a clear question and are grounded in data that reflects how work actually happens across systems.
A good use case usually begins with a specific problem or hypothesis. This might be uncertainty about where delays occur, why cases deviate from the standard process, or whether recent changes had the intended effect. Process mining works best when it is used to validate or challenge assumptions rather than to explore data without direction.
Another key factor is the availability of event data. Process mining relies on time-stamped records from operational systems. A use case is viable when key process steps can be reconstructed from system data and when events can be linked to a common case, such as an order, claim, or ticket.
Good use cases also have measurable relevance. The insights produced should support a decision, improvement initiative, or compliance requirement. If findings cannot be acted upon or measured, the value of the analysis remains limited.
Finally, effective use cases connect insights to follow-up actions. Process mining reveals patterns and deviations, but its impact depends on how those insights are used to redesign processes, adjust controls, or monitor performance over time.
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Core process mining use case categories
Process mining value and use cases tend to fall into a small number of recurring categories. Each category reflects a different type of question organizations want to answer using event data.
In practice, many initiatives combine multiple categories, but understanding them separately helps clarify expectations and outcomes.
1. Process discovery and transparency
One of the most common uses of process mining is to understand how processes actually run. Even when documentation exists, real execution often differs due to exceptions, workarounds, and system constraints.
In this category, process mining is used to reconstruct end-to-end process flows from event data. This creates an objective view of variants, loops, and deviations that are difficult to capture through workshops alone. Teams use these insights to align stakeholders, validate documented processes, and identify where standardization is needed.
This use case is often the starting point for broader BPM or transformation initiatives because it establishes a shared factual baseline.
2. Performance and bottleneck analysis
Another common category focuses on performance. Organizations use process mining to understand where time is lost, where queues build up, and how workload is distributed across steps or teams.
Here, the emphasis is on metrics such as cycle time, waiting time, and throughput. Process mining makes it possible to see how long cases spend in each step and how delays correlate with specific variants or conditions. These insights help teams prioritize improvement efforts based on impact rather than perception.
3. Conformance and compliance checking
Process mining is also used to assess whether processes are executed according to defined rules or standards. This is especially relevant in regulated environments or processes with strict controls.
In conformance use cases, process mining compares actual execution data with a reference model or set of rules. Deviations are highlighted, making it easier to identify compliance risks, control gaps, or systematic exceptions. This supports audits, internal controls, and continuous compliance monitoring.
4. Root cause and deviation analysis
Once issues are visible, organizations often want to understand why they occur. Root cause analysis use cases focus on linking performance problems or deviations to specific conditions, behaviors, or process paths.
Process mining supports this by correlating outcomes with process variants, attributes, or contextual data. This helps teams move beyond symptoms and identify underlying drivers, such as rework loops, missing information, or overloaded resources.
5. Continuous improvement and monitoring
In more mature scenarios, process mining is used to monitor processes continuously rather than as a one-time analysis. Teams track how processes evolve over time and whether changes deliver the expected results.
This category focuses on establishing ongoing visibility. Process mining helps detect regressions, measure improvement impact, and support data-driven decision-making as processes and systems change. It plays a key role in sustaining improvements rather than relying on periodic reviews.
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Process mining use cases by business function
While process mining use cases follow common patterns, they are often applied differently depending on the business function.
Each function has its own data sources, performance goals, and typical challenges, which shape how process mining is used in practice.
1. Finance and accounting
In finance and accounting, process mining is commonly used to analyze high-volume, system-driven processes where delays and deviations have a direct financial impact.
Typical use cases include order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, and record-to-report processes. Teams use process mining to understand why invoices are paid late, where approvals cause delays, or which variants lead to rework and exceptions.
These use cases often focus on:
- reducing cycle times and outstanding balances,
- identifying bottlenecks in approvals,
- detecting non-standard process paths,
- supporting audit and compliance checks.
Finance teams value process mining because it provides objective insights without relying on manual sampling or interviews.
2. Banking and financial services
In banking and financial services, process mining is frequently applied to customer-facing and risk-sensitive processes. These processes tend to involve many decision points, strict controls, and complex handoffs between systems and teams.
Common use cases include loan origination, claims handling, and fraud-related investigations. Process mining helps teams understand where applications stall, why cases deviate from the standard flow, and how compliance rules are applied in practice.
These use cases often support:
- transparency in customer journeys,
- monitoring of regulatory requirements,
- identification of inefficiencies that impact customer experience,
- validation of process changes after system or policy updates.
3. Customer service and operations
Customer service processes are a natural fit for process mining because they generate large amounts of event data across ticketing and case management systems.
Typical use cases include analyzing case resolution paths, SLA compliance, and escalation behavior. Process mining helps teams see how cases move across support levels, where handoffs slow resolution, and which variants lead to repeated customer contact.
These insights are commonly used to:
- improve response and resolution times,
- reduce unnecessary escalations,
- balance workloads across teams,
- support service quality initiatives.
4. Supply chain and logistics
In supply chain and logistics, process mining is used to analyze coordination across planning, procurement, warehousing, and delivery systems. These processes often span organizational boundaries and involve many dependencies.
Common use cases include purchase order fulfillment, shipment handling, and supplier performance analysis. Process mining reveals where delays occur, how often exceptions arise, and which process paths lead to missed delivery targets.
Organizations use these insights to:
- improve predictability and reliability,
- reduce manual intervention,
- identify root causes of delays,
- support continuous operational improvement.
5. IT and service management
In IT and service management, process mining is applied to incident, problem, and change management processes. These workflows are highly data-driven and involve frequent handoffs between tools and teams.
Use cases often focus on understanding ticket flows, identifying rework or loops, and analyzing the impact of changes on resolution times. Process mining helps IT teams move from reactive firefighting to more systematic process improvement.
These use cases support:
- faster incident resolution,
- improved change governance,
- better alignment between IT processes and service objectives,
- data-driven optimization of IT operations.
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Process mining use cases across industries
Beyond individual business functions, process mining is often applied to address industry-specific challenges.
Regulations, operating models, and customer expectations shape how processes behave and which questions process mining helps answer.
1. Manufacturing
In manufacturing, process mining is used to analyze processes that connect planning, production, quality, and logistics systems. These processes tend to be highly structured but still show significant variation due to exceptions, rework, or system constraints.
Typical use cases include production order handling, quality deviation management, and engineering change processes. Process mining helps teams understand how production flows differ from the planned process, where rework loops occur, and how changes affect throughput and quality.
Manufacturers use these insights to:
- reduce rework and unplanned delays,
- improve coordination between production and quality teams,
- validate the impact of process or system changes,
- support continuous improvement initiatives.
2. Healthcare
Healthcare processes often involve many handoffs between administrative and clinical systems, combined with strict compliance requirements. Process mining is used to gain transparency without disrupting care delivery.
Common use cases include patient pathways, billing processes, and administrative workflows. Process mining helps organizations understand waiting times, identify unnecessary steps, and ensure that processes align with defined standards.
These use cases typically support:
- improved patient flow and experience,
- better coordination between departments,
- compliance and audit readiness,
- data-driven process improvement.
3. Public sector
In the public sector, process mining is applied to service delivery and case management processes that require transparency, fairness, and accountability.
Typical use cases include permit handling, benefits processing, and citizen service requests. Process mining helps identify delays, inconsistent handling, and bottlenecks across agencies or departments.
Public sector organizations use these insights to:
- improve service levels,
- increase transparency,
- support policy evaluation,
- standardize processes across organizational units.
These industry-focused use cases show how process mining adapts to different operating environments while relying on the same core principles: objective data, end-to-end visibility, and actionable insights.
From use case identification to validation
Identifying a process mining use case is only the first step. The real value comes from validating whether a use case can be supported by data and whether its insights can drive action.
Use case identification usually starts with a business question, not with data exploration. This question might relate to delays, deviations, compliance concerns, or uncertainty about whether recent changes had the intended effect. Clear questions help focus analysis and avoid unfocused exploration.
Validation happens when assumptions are tested against real execution data. Process mining makes it possible to confirm whether perceived problems actually exist, how often they occur, and under which conditions. This step often reveals that issues are more complex—or more localized—than initially expected.
A validated use case typically meets three conditions:
- the process can be reconstructed reliably from event data,
- the findings are understandable and credible to stakeholders,
- the insights point to concrete improvement or decision options.
Validation also helps prioritize use cases. Some questions may be interesting but have limited impact, while others reveal issues that justify further analysis, redesign, or monitoring. This step ensures that process mining efforts focus on outcomes rather than exploration for its own sake.
How process mining use cases connect to BPM and transformation
Process mining use cases create the factual foundation for BPM and transformation activities. They are commonly applied during process discovery and analysis to establish how processes actually run and where problems occur.
These insights feed directly into BPM activities such as process redesign, standardization, and governance. By linking process mining findings to BPM practices, teams can base improvement decisions on execution data rather than assumptions.
Process mining is also used to validate transformation initiatives. When processes are redesigned, automated, or supported by new systems, process mining helps assess whether changes deliver the expected results and where further adjustment is needed.
In more mature scenarios, process mining supports continuous BPM by monitoring process behavior over time. This creates a feedback loop between discovery, improvement, and operation, connecting process mining use cases to long-term BPM and transformation goals.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are process mining use cases?
Process mining use cases describe how organizations apply process mining to answer concrete business questions. Typical use cases focus on understanding real process behavior, identifying bottlenecks, checking compliance, or validating improvement initiatives using event data.
How do I identify the right process mining use case?
What data is needed for process mining use cases?
Are process mining use cases limited to certain industries or functions?
How do process mining use cases support BPM?