Visualizing ERP Usage Logs in Real Time

We present a prototype system that visualizes business process models extracted from usage logs for providing support to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system users in real time. While process mining and visualization techniques are commonly applied to off-line data analytics and process management, far less attention has been focused on how they can be applied in real time to assisting users of complex system interfaces. The approach described in this paper demonstrates the application of interactive visualizations to providing ERP system users with process-, task-, and context-related information during active system use. Such information is vital to the users’ understanding of the supported processes and affects their ability to make the most effective use of the system, yet it is typically hidden behind opaque interfaces. Dynamically-generated interactive process visualizations that draw on data captured to usage logs are one way to open a much needed window for ERP users.