To read the original LinkedIn Pulse post, please click here

 

Step 1: Automated Process Discovery

Automated Process Discovery is a method where enterprise data is automatically converted to fact-based process pictures. Findings lead to indisputable business benefits and culture of curiosity.

The below illustration explains the essence of this dynamic approach.

The good-old business reports provide answers to pre-defined questions. And that’s where the problem lies. Static business reporting dulls our brains. Our habits prevent advancing.

Process discovery, on the contrary, reveals the unknown (and often unexpected) across the business silos. People start experiencing new type of wisdom. Excitement grows as new benefits keep materializing.

Automated process discovery is fast, cheap and powerful. Experimenting can be initiated with just one PC and one source of enterprise data. Be ready to be surprised.

 

Step 2 – Utilise more data. Do discovery in cloud. Initiate machine learning. 

The value of the cross-functional findings grow and more questions arise. This leads to the need to bring on more data for broader and deeper discoveries. New questions. New surprises. New benefits. Yet further questions. Yet need of more and new dimensions of data. Mesh of root-cause-relations grow exponentially. Limits of the human mind are reached.

Now is the right time to accumulate the discovery data into cloud and introduce a new team member, AI.

At this stage the discovery findings and best improvement ideas are still originating from the human minds: the discovery team, benefit hungry business functions and their sponsors. Customers may be taken into the loop also.

AI needs to be educated before it becomes intelligent. The more data there is, the broader spectrum of cause-and-effect correlations AI learns to recognize.

Discovery team corrects AI conclusions when so needed. AI learns from people. People learn from AI.

 

Step 3 – AI Powered Enterprise

AI kicks in big time: its discoveries educate organisation silos to tune processes, reduce errors and explore totally new business opportunities.

Breathtakingly broader sources of information will be utilized: voice, mails, social media, video, … Unforeseen benefits for today and future are presented.

Former enterprise silos learn to better play as one team. The annual clock’s non-value-adding routines are shaken. Customers are converted into fans. This is digitalization. Finally.

Why three steps?

Inherited inflexible enterprise habits are a major obstacle for digitalisation (read: “ERP Prevents Digitalization”).  Also, AI-in-a-box enterprise solutions do not exist today (read: “Don’t buy AI – it doesn’t exist yet”).

Process discovery is affordable and available technology. It is a low-risk high-value stepping stone towards AI on cloud. This path is needed in order to win people’s minds to realize that data is full of hidden gems which human brains alone can not reveal.

An enterprise can become a world class AI beneficiary in 18 months. Technology is the easy part. Enterprise culture change is the tough one. Hence the three steps.

 

Written by Petri Malmelin, Partner at Taival and Boardman2020 VIP member