Process Mining is a set of methods, tools and techniques that allows business process analysis based on event logs produced by the information systems. Process Mining can be used for three main purposes: (1) To discover the process model from the event log (2) To check process conformance with an existing process model and (3) To improve an existing process model based on actual process information found in the event log. Process Mining (PM) can be applied in a variety of domains. This specific application comes from the healthcare area and, more specifically, from the blood bank division of a hospital. In this division the blood is collected from donors, separated into blood products, stored, and prepared for transfusion to patients. The PM “Case” is the Blood Unit and its route from donation to transfusion. Activities in blood unit lifecycle include: Donation, Laboratory Testing, Splitting into products, Compatibility testing, Sending, Returning, Transfusion, Destruction etc. The events data correspond to blood units donated in a period of 3 months. In Process Mining literature it is widely accepted that a holistic approach is needed to derive the right conclusions from event data. Holistic approach refers to Systemic Approach or to Systems Theory methodologies and tools. In this study we argue that there is a strong relation between Process Mining and Systemic Approach. Much more important can be the contribution of PM to the Systemic Analysis. PM can help to discover systems and their structure and to provide a reference point for comparing mental models with the reality which is the final objective of any systemic methodology.

1. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank
and correlation with the Systemic Approach
Panagiotis Papaioannou
p.papaioannou@gmail.com
HSSS 11th National & International Conference
10-12 July 2015, Athens, Greece

2. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining
Methods, tools and techniques that allows business process analysis
based on event logs produced by the information systems.
Log File Process Model

3. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining
Process Mining can be used for three main purposes:
1) To discover the process model from the event log
2) To check process conformance with an existing process model
3) To improve an existing process model based on actual process
information found in the event log.

4. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining
Event Log Description
Case, Time, Activity, Resource

5. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining
Software Tools
Process Mining framework for developers and users
Open Source framework for process mining algorithms
Prof Wil van der Aalst and others
Eindhoven University of Technology
ProM
Disco A complete, easy to use, process mining software
by Fluxicon

6. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
Storing
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Processes in the Blood Bank
Donation Lab Tests
Splitting into
Products
Compatibility
Testing
Sending
Returning
Whole Blood RBC
Destruction
Transfusion
PLT FFPFP
RBC: Red Blood Cells PLT: Platelets FP: frozen plasma FFP: Fresh Frozen Plasma

7. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Blood Bank Process Mining with DISCO
Full view - All Processes

8. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Zoom in: 50% of Processes

9. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Zoom in:
20% of Processes
Absolute Freq.

10. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Zoom in:
20% of Processes
Mean duration

11. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining with Disco: Statistics Overview

12. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining with Disco: Statistics : Activities

13. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining with Disco: Statistics : Resources

14. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining in the Blood Bank: RBC cases only

15. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Using Prom 6 to discover Social Networks
Interactions between employees in the Blood Bank
ISOMN Layout
ISOMLayout is a layout for self-organizing graphs. It arranges the data according to a low
dimensional structure.
Data is partitioned into as many homogeneous clusters as there are units, in such way that
close clusters contain close data points in the original space.

16. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Using Prom 6 to discover Social Networks
Interactions between employees in the Blood Bank
FR Layout
Fruchterman-Reingold layout: A system of masses. Node=Mass Edge=Spring.
The algorithm tries to minimize the energy of this system.

17. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Findings regarding processes
1) A well defined process (operates under a QM system, ISO 9001 certified)
2) The designed model is a lasagna process (vs spaghetti process)
3) Setting a high level of details in Disco or ProM the process map becomes
a spaghetti process. Possible causes:
• Delays in data entry
• Deviations from the normal workflow
• Misinterpretation of the sequence of events by the PM tools due to
the nature of the events
4) PM tools:
• confirmed the process execution and workload of the employees
• they revealed data entry deviations and some process deviations
• they showed the “big picture” of the operations.

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Process Mining: The systemic perspective
Van Der Aalst, Wil. Process mining: discovery, conformance and enhancement
of business processes. Springer Science & Business Media, 2011.

19. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining: The systemic perspective
Process Aware Information Systems, operated by people (sociotechnical systems)
“A holistic approach is needed to derive the right conclusions from event data”
Holistic approach …  … Systemic Approach (methodologies and tools)
A perfect field to apply Systemic Approach in order to design and implement
successful interventions.

20. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Systemic concepts useful in Process Mining
• Systems hierarchy
• Causal loops
• Feedback
• Emergence
• Sociotechnical systems exposing complex
behaviors
• Various systemic methodologies

21. Applied Process Mining in a Blood Bank and correlation with the Systemic Approach CSAP
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Process Mining contribution to the Systemic Analysis
• Help to discover systems and their structure
− Process models
− Social systems (human resources utilization)
− Equipment modeling (other resources utilization)
• Provide a reference point for comparing mental models with the reality
which is the final objective of any systemic methodology
• PM techniques as well as tools like ProM and Disco are excellent tools to
model the world of processes and to address its emerging complexity
(zooming in and out in ProM or Disco is similar to creating models at
different abstraction level)

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Conclusion
This case confirms the value of Process Mining in the Healthcare field.
What is emerging is the relation between Process Mining and Systemic
Approach.
Systemic approach can be very useful when conducting a Process Mining
project or study.
Process Mining can be a systemic tool which can be combined with other
systemic tools or methodologies in order to expand their capabilities.