Process mining enables transparency for process enhancement – paving the way to truly zero-touch network operations

Modern networks will increasingly require the ability to recognize their own service enhancement and process redesign needs autonomously, as they arise – rather than responding when dysfunction or inefficiency has already set in. The incoming generation of cellular networks are too complex, and their maintenance requirements too fast-developing, to be reactively managed via human assessment and intervention. CSPs’ customer expectations for consistent, high-quality service on demand are going up – and their patience for interruptions or long resolution times are going down – just as the networks themselves are becoming more challenging to maintain.

What’s needed, then, is an objective means to assess the current service capability maturity levels; transparently identify areas for optimization; reliably predict the adaptive operations processes needed; and establish solutions ahead of time based on the behavioural data accrued from past experience. From here we can cement a drive towards truly zero touch operations (ZTO) – which is ultimately what the Data and value driven operations Catalyst is aimed at achieving. This Catalyst will show how a model based on process mining (ProcM) – a combination of data science and process science technique, for the analysis and enhancement of operational processes based on event log discovery – can drive autonomous operations by enabling CTOs to identify process non-conformance and areas for improvement, to be prioritized in line with business strategy in executing their digital transformation.

The solution uses ProcM to enable process discovery from the event logs that include the process model and event data, process analysis of the non-conformance, process enhancement on those areas of optimization, and operation predictions. The ProcM will be complemented with the Autonomous Operation Maturity Model (AOMM) tool to assess the CSP’s current maturity level, then enable gap analysis with the CSP’s target objective, and the capability gap analysis that leads to prioritization for the capability roadmap design. With the output from the AOMM and ProcM, the value assessment can then be worked out through the value operation framework introduced in IG1269. Non-conformance analysis will be conducted with reference to TM Forum’s eTOM business process best practice and Autonomous Operations framework.

Yessie Yosetya, Chief Strategic Transformation & IT Officer at XL Axiata summarizes the benefits as follows: “this should help us accelerate our capability development plan, which is a critical success factor to our digital operating model in realizing our digital transformation strategy. In terms of output that means identifying unhappy customers, and the network factors contributing to them, and resolving these in the shortest possible time to improve NPS and minimize churn. Proactive service quality management can minimize customer complaint volumes as service adoption accelerates, improve CX, and reduce MTT resolution.”

So how do we know if this works? Well, success could be measured against how the enhanced processes effectively deliver on the values created from the service capabilities built, and turn these into business outcomes. That means improving operation KPI metrics such as MTT escalation, demarcation and resolution; reduction of MTT resolution from hours to minutes; and ultimately reduction in operation expenses.

This innovation is focused initially on CSPs but will later be extended to vertical markets such as finance, manufacturing, government, transport and agriculture. If you’re in any of these spaces and this sounds like it could be of help to your organization, we invite you to join us at Digital Transformation World in Copenhagen later this month.

Find out more about this Catalyst here.