The most common threats for Process Mining projects

Threat 1: Process mining is seen as an IT project, not as a tool for business development

One of the biggest mistakes in process mining? Treating it as just another IT or analytics project. When you silo it within the tech or IT team, the business perspective often fades into the background. But the truth is, process mining is first and foremost a business development tool, not just a fancy reporting method.

Avoid this threat: Involve business owners, team leads and decision-makers from the start. When goals are driven by real business needs, the results are more meaningful too.

Threat 2: Expecting ready-made answers with no effort

Process mining produces a lot of data. But it won't hand you a neat list of action points. It shows you where anomalies occur, but not what to do about them. Many teams get frustrated when they realize that the hard part (interpretation) still lies ahead.

Avoid this threat: Be prepared to dive into the insights together with your experts or a trusted partner. Process mining gives you the map, but it's still up to you to choose the path forward.

Threat 3: Treating it like a one-time project

Process mining isn't a campaign. It's a tool for continuous improvement. A common mistake is to run a one-off analysis and call it a day. In that case, development efforts stay shallow, and any impact goes unmeasured.

Avoid this threat: Set up a recurring cycle: analysis - action - measurement - new analysis. That's how process improvement becomes part of your everyday work.

Threat 4: No ownership, or too many cooks

Without clear ownership, process mining efforts fizzle out. No one feels responsible for the findings, and nothing actually gets implemented. On the flip side, spreading ownership too thin can lead to siloed improvements with no cohesive direction.

Avoid this threat: Appoint clear owners for both the process and the analysis. Their job is not only to interpret results, but also to make sure insights lead to action.

Threat 5: Biting off more than you can chew

Trying to change the whole organisation at once? That's a recipe for overwhelm. Massive amounts of data and scattered improvement goals can quickly drain motivation and focus.

Avoid this threat: Start small. Pick one key process - like accounts payable, customer service or order-to-cash - and focus on that. Learn, succeed and scale from there.

Technology alone isn't enough

According to Deloitte (2025), up to 60% of process mining projects partly or completely fail. Not because the tools didn't work, but because the organisation wasn't prepared for change. Process ownership, clarity and continuity are just as important as the tech stack.

At Greenstep, we help our customers turn process mining into a sustainable part of business development. We combine data, change management and ongoing support into one clear path forward.

Want to avoid these threats before your first analysis even begins?

Let's talk about a development path that fits your organisation.