Enriching Object-Centric Event Data with Process Scopes: A Framework for Aggregation and Analysis

2025-08-26

AI Summary

Existing object-centric event data (OCED) lacks explicit, configurable process scope definitions, restricting process mining to monolithic, coarse-grained processes and hindering cross-object and cross-functional behavioral analysis. Method: This paper embeds analyst-defined process scopes into the Object-Centric Event Log (OCEL) framework, enabling a structured representation supporting multiple coexisting processes. Process scope definition and event data enrichment are achieved through a hybrid approach combining manual modeling and tool-assisted automation. Contribution/Results: Experiments on public OCEL logs validate the method’s effectiveness. The developed tool supports reusable scope definitions, cross-scope event aggregation, and multi-level analysis. This work constitutes the first systematic solution to the ambiguous process boundary problem in OCED, significantly elevating the abstraction level of process mining and enhancing the capability to analyze inter-process behavioral correlations.

Technology Category

• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Anomaly/Outlier Detection
• Natural Language Processing: Discourse, Pragmatics & Argument Mining
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Bridging structured and unstructured data
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Algorithms and analysis for heterogeneous, signed, attributed, multi-relational, temporal, higher-order, and annotated Web-related graphs
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Data management and stream processing for Web, mobile and wireless applications

Abstract

Object-Centric Process Mining enables the analysis of complex operational behavior by capturing interactions among multiple business objects (e.g., orders, items, deliveries). These interactions are recorded using Object-Centric Event Data (OCED) formats, such as the Object-Centric Event Log (OCEL). However, existing formats lack explicit definitions of process scopes, which restricts analysis to individual processes and limits insights to a low level of granularity. In practice, OCED often spans multiple interrelated processes, as shared objects connect events across organizational functions. This structure reflects how value is created along the organizational value chain, but introduces challenges for interpretation when process boundaries are not clearly defined. Moreover, process definitions are typically subjective and context-dependent; they vary across organizations, roles, and analytical goals, and cannot always be discovered automatically. To address these challenges, we propose a method for embedding analyst-defined process scopes into OCEL. This enables the structured representation of multiple coexisting processes, supports the aggregation of event data across scopes, and facilitates analysis at varying levels of abstraction. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach using a publicly available OCEL log and provide supporting tools for scope definition and analysis.

Problem

• Lack of explicit process scope definitions in OCED formats
• Inability to analyze multiple interrelated processes with shared objects
• Subjectivity and context-dependency of process definitions across organizations

Innovation

• Embedding analyst-defined process scopes into OCEL
• Structured representation of multiple coexisting processes
• Aggregation of event data across varying scopes