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11.4 Applications 287

Fig. 11.7 Overview of the different functional areas in a typical organization. Lasagna processes
are typically encountered in production, finance/accounting, procurement, logistics, resource man-
agement, and sales/CRM. Spaghetti processes are typically encountered in product development,
service, resource management, and sales/CRM

agencies (e.g., Rijkswaterstaat, Centraal Justitieel Incasso Bureau, and Justice de-
partment), insurance related agencies (e.g., UWV), banks (e.g., ING Bank), hos-
pitals (e.g., AMC hospital and Catharina hospital), multinationals (e.g., DSM and
Deloitte), high-tech system manufacturers and their customers (e.g., Philips Health-
care, ASML, Ricoh, and Thales), and media companies (e.g., Winkwaves). This
illustrates the broad spectrum of situations in which process mining can be applied.
In remainder of this section, we identify process mining opportunities in different
functional areas and in different sectors and industries. Moreover, we briefly discuss
two case studies involving Lasagna processes.

11.4.1 Process Mining Opportunities per Functional Area

Figure 11.7 shows the main functional areas that can be found in most organiza-
tions:

• Product development is concerned with all the preparations and engineering work
needed to start producing a particular product. Products do not need to be physical
objects (e.g., a car or copier); the product may also be a piece of information or a
service (e.g., a new kind of insurance). Product development processes are typi-
cally Spaghetti-like because they have a lower frequency and depend on problem
solving, expertise, and creativity rather than repetition, routine, and efficiency.
• Production is the functional area where the products are actually produced. Pro-
cesses may range from classical manufacturing (assembling a car) to information
creation (opening a back account). Most production processes are Lasagna pro-
cesses because they need to be reproducible and efficient.
• Procurement entails all activities to get the materials needed for production. Note
that the input for the production process may also be information from other
parties. The input materials need to be purchased, stocks need to be monitored,
deliveries need to be checked, etc. Processes in this functional area are typically
Lasagna processes.
• The functional area Sales/CRM is concerned with all activities related to “lead-to-
order” and “order-to-cash”. Besides the actual sales function, most organizations