The Silent Evolution of Business Processes
In every organization, processes are designed with structure in mind—orderly sequences of tasks intended to guide people, systems, and outcomes toward a consistent goal. But over time, something subtle happens. What once was a clearly defined flow begins to morph. Different teams handle the same steps in slightly different ways. Regions introduce local adjustments. Individuals find shortcuts or workarounds that suit their day-to-day needs. These changes are often undocumented and invisible to leadership. Yet they exist—quietly shaping outcomes behind the scenes.
This silent evolution of business processes is not a failure. It’s a reflection of how dynamic real-world operations are. But it does pose a challenge: how do you understand, manage, and improve something that is constantly shifting and exists in multiple versions at once? The answer is found in a growing field of insight called process configuration mining.
Seeing More Than Just the Process
Traditional process mining focuses on uncovering a single, most-frequent path from event logs and system data. It answers the question: “How does this process generally work?” But configuration mining takes that idea further and deeper. It asks: “How many different versions of this process are actually being used? Where do they diverge? Why do they diverge? And what does each version tell us?”
In short, process configuration mining doesn’t just trace the process—it unpacks the variations. It reveals that what looks like one process on paper is often a collection of different paths, executed differently across departments, regions, or roles. These variations—known as configurations—can be intentional, necessary, or accidental. What matters is being able to see them, understand them, and learn from them.
From Confusion to Clarity
Imagine a customer onboarding process designed to take seven steps. Leadership believes everyone follows that design. But when the data is mined, it turns out there are fifteen different versions of that process in play. Some are streamlined and fast, skipping approvals. Others are bloated, with added manual checks. A few are outdated relics of a former system, still followed by certain teams out of habit. This isn’t chaos—it’s reality.
Atheris has worked closely with organizations facing exactly this kind of discovery. One such client believed they had standardized their operations after a major transformation effort. But when we applied process configuration mining, we discovered over thirty process variants across their regional offices. This insight didn’t just surprise them—it empowered them. They could now ask more meaningful questions. Which configurations lead to faster outcomes? Which ones increase error rates? Which ones comply with policy—and which ones don’t?
By understanding not just how a process works, but how it really works across the organization, they were able to refine it, not by enforcing blind standardization, but by learning from their own hidden best practices.
Patterns That Speak
Process configuration mining isn’t about micromanaging every deviation. It’s about listening to patterns. When certain steps are repeatedly skipped in specific locations, that signals a deeper issue—perhaps those steps add no value, or maybe the system doesn’t support them well. When some teams create their own paths, it might reflect a need for flexibility in that context. These signals are valuable. They help companies design processes that are not just standardized, but smart—rooted in reality, not just intention.
Atheris treats process data as a living language. The way processes unfold tells a story. And every configuration is a sentence in that story. Our role is to translate it into clarity and insight—so leaders aren’t guessing where things go wrong, but seeing it directly, in data that speaks plainly.
The Strategic Advantage of Awareness
In an era where adaptability is critical, organizations can’t afford to be blind to the way their processes actually run. The gap between process design and execution is where delays, compliance risks, and inefficiencies quietly grow. But with configuration mining, that gap becomes a space for discovery and optimization.
Companies that embrace this approach don’t just fix broken processes—they evolve. They become more aware of their internal diversity, more respectful of their teams’ ingenuity, and more capable of shaping systems that work in the real world. It’s not about eliminating all differences. It’s about understanding which differences matter, which ones harm, and which ones help.
Atheris and the Future of Process Intelligence
At Atheris, we believe that the future of operational excellence is grounded in truth—truth about how processes run, truth about where they drift, and truth about what actually works. Process configuration mining isn’t a trend to follow. It’s a lens to see clearly. When organizations adopt this mindset, they unlock not just efficiency, but resilience.
Process configuration mining gives you more than just process maps. It gives you the real map—the one drawn by the hands of people doing the work every day. With that map in hand, and with Atheris guiding the way, you can finally stop chasing control and start leading with insight.