Method for the identification of process mining use cases in manufacturing

Process mining (PM) is a novel technique that allows to derive insights about business processes based on data already available in today's information systems. PM offers a wide variety of possibilities, such as as-is process discovery, or the automatic comparison of as-is and to-be processes. Especially in manufacturing, the individuality of manufacturing processes further prevents the identification of possible usages. However, for the success of PM it is essential to work on the right use cases. While numerous solutions on the detailing and assessment of PM use cases have been defined, none deals with the structured identification of possible use cases. In this paper, we develop a method to systematically identify PM use cases in manufacturing organizations in collaboration with two-real world organizations. We apply the final method to one organization. The method is two-fold: first, we present a workshop method that guides practitioners through the ideation and concretization of PM use cases. We show that manufacturing organizations are best off by posing questions about their process. Consequently, our second contribution is a template of possible questions to answer, drawing from typical process improvement initiatives in manufacturing, such as lean management. Our contribution especially helps organizations with little experience in PM, and can serve as good workshop concept for kicking off new PM initiatives.