How your processes actually run
We show you how your processes actually run. Not how the org chart says they do.
Evidence-based process analysis means this: we examine what your systems have logged, we talk to the people who run the process every day, and we show you where time and money are being lost. Improvement runs on Lean methods and Six Sigma discipline. What you get at the end is a number, not a hunch.
Why most process analyses lead nowhere
What you get at the end is a slide deck. In it, a process everyone confirmed in the workshop and that never ran that way. The detours, queries and rework loops that cause the actual effort appear in no drawing. They are in your systems.
We call that the shadow process: everything that actually happens between the official process steps. As long as it stays invisible, improvements are aimed at the wrong place.
Two routes to the truth about your processes
A workshop tells you how the process is meant to work. Your system data shows how it actually ran. With ERP, CRM or ticketing systems there is usually log data we can work with, and then we use both. Where the data does not allow it, we tell you at the outset and work the classical way.
| Classic process workshop | Process mining | |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | What the people involved remember in an interview | What the systems have logged |
| Coverage | One or two main paths | Every variant that actually ran |
| Effort on your side | High, many meetings | Low, one-off data extraction |
| Blind spot | Exceptions, rework, workarounds | The "why" behind the behavior |
| Strength | Understanding causes, bringing people along | Proving the current state and prioritizing |
Schematic illustration.
The drawing shows two paths. In the data there are often several hundred.
Evidence-Based Process Analysis
Four building blocks, each resting on the one before.
Evidence
From the log data in your systems we reconstruct how the process actually ran: every variant, every loop, every wait. Nothing remembered, nothing estimated.
Context
Data shows what happens. Why it happens comes from people. In the workshops we work out which workaround was deliberate and which was a stopgap nobody ever removed.
Impact
Improvement runs on Lean methods and Six Sigma discipline. Not everything that stands out is worth fixing. We prioritize by measurable impact, not by visibility.
Embedding
A process nobody knows does not survive three months. Training, metrics and a follow-up measurement are part of the work. Without them you had a project rather than an improvement.
How a project runs
Current-state analysis
First we check whether your systems produce log data we can work with. If they do, we reconstruct the real sequence from it. If they do not, we record it on site. Observing and measuring, not judging. Every process we examine also receives a maturity level, rated in line with ISO/IEC 33000.
Process workshops
Together with your people we make sense of the picture: what is a bottleneck, what is a symptom, and what simply grew that way without anyone ever questioning it. Prioritized by real impact.
Target-state concept
The new process, designed with Lean and Six Sigma. Waste removed, quality provable, automation exactly where it pays for itself.
Implementation concept
A roadmap you can actually work from: sequence, responsibilities, effort, metrics. If you want it, we stay on board for the implementation.
What you hold in your hands at the end
A process analysis should not end in a slide deck nobody opens again. This is still useful three months later.
- A current-state process map showing how the work actually flows today
- A prioritized bottleneck list, ordered by real impact rather than gut feeling
- A breakdown of waste and cost: exactly where the money is leaking
- A target-state process built on Lean and Six Sigma principles
- Automation recommendations, limited to what genuinely pays off
- A before-and-after metric baseline, so the improvement is measurable
- Training for your team on the new process
- A written roadmap for the next steps once the first win lands
- A maturity level for every process examined, from level 0 to level 5
Where we put this to work
Production & Manufacturing
Optimizing production flow, maximizing machine availability and cutting scrap and idle time on the shop floor.
Logistics & Supply Chain
A tighter supply chain, automated ordering and better inventory planning reduce bottlenecks and bring warehousing costs down.
Administration & Office Work
Digitizing paper-based office workflows, automating approvals and handovers, and removing the manual work that slows every department down.
E-Commerce & Sales
Automating ordering and order fulfillment so sales volume can grow without manual work growing at the same rate.
Customer Support & Service
Support tickets handled faster and service requests prioritized more efficiently, so solutions are found sooner.
Trades & Construction
Digital tools for scheduling, inventory and on-site logistics replace paper records and coordination by phone.
How we measure whether it worked
Every project starts with a baseline measurement. After that, "better" is a number you can check, not a feeling.
| Metric | What it shows | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle time | How long a process takes from start to finish | ↓ down |
| Cost per transaction | What it actually costs to run the process once | ↓ down |
| Error and rework rate | How often something has to be done again | ↓ down |
| Throughput and capacity | How much volume the process can really carry | ↑ up |
| Manual hours per week | Time your team spends on repetitive routine work | ↓ down |
Where your processes stand today
Alongside the metrics, we rate every process we examine on a maturity scale. We work in line with ISO/IEC 33000, the international framework for process assessment. The rating says how reliably a process works today, and it makes clear which step actually makes sense next. Automating a level 1 process achieves little while nobody can say how it runs.
Incomplete
The process is not implemented, or it fails to achieve its purpose.
Performed
The process is carried out and achieves its purpose.
Managed
The process is planned, monitored and adjusted. Its work products are defined and controlled.
Established
A defined standard process exists, and the process in use is derived from it.
Predictable
The process operates within defined limits and is steered using quantitative data.
Innovating
The process is continuously improved to respond to changing requirements.
Scope
We work in line with this framework. We do not carry out certified assessments and we do not issue certificates. The rating is our finding, and it serves as your starting point and as the benchmark for the follow-up measurement.
What Six Sigma has to do with it
Six Sigma is a method for measurably reducing errors and variation in processes. It was developed in manufacturing; today it is just as at home in administration and services. We use it in the improvement phase. The analysis shows where things stick. Six Sigma makes sure the improvement is provable and not just felt.
Technology-driven
We pair process redesign with the automation your systems can genuinely deliver, not just with a redrawn flow chart.
And what happens next?
That is decided by the analysis, not by sales. A process analysis with us ends in one of five outcomes:
Who does this
Andreas Erhard, BA, MSc, MBA
Process manager, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Yellow Belt. Published on process mining at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.
Processes recorded, documented and assessed over his career. In interviews with the people who run them, and from the data of the systems they run in.
Peer-reviewed publications on process mining. One on assessing data quality, one on the technical preparation of process data.
Lean Six Sigma certified. The methodology that turns an analysis into a provable improvement.
Project types from practice
The questions we are asked almost every time
Let's talk about your process
A free intro call, 30 minutes. We listen to where things are stuck and tell you honestly whether a process analysis is the right instrument.