# Process Qualification

In an ideal world, your organization’s Enterprise Architecture (EA) team would have an up-to-date repository of every single business process within your organization, documented and mapped in some kind of process notation such as business process model and notation (BPMN). This repository could be used to identify deficient processes that could benefit from process optimization. However, the reality is most organizations do not have this level of maturity and as such, we need to scan the organization to identify where opportunities are ripe for process mining.

From our experience in mining 5 different processes in the Government of Canada, we have created the following three intake questionnaires for departments to help identify potential process opportunities, qualify their suitability, and assess the technical suitability. Using this approach should help in building a backlog of potential process mining opportunities, while quickly discarding (or parking) those opportunities that do not qualify. Those opportunities that initially qualify will be ranked, and the processes you mine will be based on impact and ROI.

You should qualify every process sequentially, starting with the first questionnaire and ending with the last. If at any point during the qualification process you feel like the process is no longer a good candidate, you should considering parking or abandoning the process in favour of others with stronger potential. Process Mining is an effective tool when used in the right circumstances. However, it should not be treated like a hammer looking for a nail.