Towards a Simple and Extensible Standard for Object-Centric Event Data (OCED) -- Core Model, Design Space, and Lessons Learned

arXiv (Cornell University)

Abstract

Process mining is shifting towards use cases that explicitly leverage the relations between data objects and events under the term of object-centric process mining. Realizing this shift and generally simplifying the exchange and transformation of data between source systems and process mining solutions requires a standardized data format for such object-centric event data (OCED). This report summarizes the activities and results for identifying requirements and challenges for a community-supported standard for OCED. (1) We present a proposal for a core model for object-centric event data that underlies all known use cases. (2) We detail the limitations of the core model wrt. a broad range of use cases and discuss how to overcome them through conventions, usage patterns, and extensions of OCED, exhausting the design-space for an OCED data model and the inherent trade-offs in representing object-centric event data. (3) These insights are backed by five independent OCED implementations which are presented alongside a series of lessons learned in academic and industrial case studies. The results of this report provide guidance to the community to start adopting and building new process mining use cases and solutions around the reliable concepts for object-centric event data, and to engage in a structured process for standardizing OCED based on the known OCED design space.

Authors 14

1. Dirk Fahland

   Eindhoven University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Eindhoven University of Technology , the Netherlands ,

2. Marco Montali

   Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

   Affiliation as printed

   Free University of Bozen-Bolzano , Italy,

3. Julian Lebherz
   Affiliation as printed

   Standard Chartered Bank , Singapore ,

4. Wil M. P. van der Aalst Aachen Process and Data Science Chair

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Process and Data Science Chair , RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany,

5. Maarten van Asseldonk
   Affiliation as printed

   Konekti , Eindhoven , the Netherlands ,

6. Lien Bosmans
   Affiliation as printed

   Randstad Digital , Leuven , Belgium,

7. Marcus Brenscheidt
8. Claudio Di Ciccio

   Utrecht University

   Affiliation as printed

   Utrecht University , The Netherlands ,

9. Andrea Delgado

   Universidad de la República de Uruguay

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituto de Computación , Facultad de Ingeniería , Universidad de la República , Uruguay ,

10. Daniel Calegari

    Universidad de la República de Uruguay

    Affiliation as printed

    Instituto de Computación , Facultad de Ingeniería , Universidad de la República , Uruguay ,

11. Jari Peeperkorn
    Affiliation as printed

    Research Center for Information Systems Engineering (LIRIS) , KU Leuven , Belgium ,

12. H. M. W. Verbeek

    Eindhoven University of Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    Eindhoven University of Technology , the Netherlands ,

13. Lotte Vugs
    Affiliation as printed

    Konekti , Eindhoven , the Netherlands ,

14. Moe Thandar Wynn