OCEL 2.0: Enabling Object-Centric Process Mining

Exciting news for those interested in #ProcessMining! We have released OCEL 2.0. Explore it now at https://www.ocel-standard.org.

OCEL, which stands for Object-Centric Event Log, serves as the exchange format for Object-Centric Event Data (#OCED) and serves as the foundation for Object-Centric Process Mining (#OCPM) [1]. This latest standard, OCEL 2.0, introduces a comprehensive specification, including metamodel and formalization, along with three exchange formats (SQLite, XML, and JSON). It also offers numerous example datasets, libraries, and software tools.

The inaugural release, OCEL 1.0, made its debut in 2020 and sparked the development of various OCPM techniques. With OCEL 2.0, we have added Object-to-Object (O2O) relations next to Event-to-Object (E20) relations, and the ability to modify object attributes and qualify O2O and E2O relationships. Similar to OCEL 1.0, an event can reference multiple objects of different types, freeing it from the constraints of a single-case concept. Explore these new possibilities today!

Conventional approaches to process modeling and analysis typically center around a single type of object, often referred to as cases or instances, with each event exclusively linked to one such object. This limited perspective can distort our understanding of reality, giving rise to the well-known convergence and divergence issues [1,2]. Moreover, data extraction is frequently labor-intensive and must be repeated when new questions arise.

Object-Centric Process Mining (OCPM) adopts a more holistic and inclusive approach to process enhancement. It considers multiple types of objects and events involving varying numbers of objects. Leveraging the OCEL 2.0 standard and associated OCPM tools, one can effortlessly examine operational activities from various angles using a single, unchanging data source. This eliminates the need for data extraction when shifting perspectives, providing an unparalleled degree of flexibility through on-demand process mining views.

Several tools are at your disposal for analyzing OCEL 2.0 event logs (e.g., OCPM and OCpi). We also provide libraries to support and facilitate easy integration. We expect these ideas coming from research to be adopted in industry. For example, Celonis has embraced OCED and OCPM, and through Process Sphere and the Celonis object-centric data model, users can benefit from this directly.

OCPM also uncovers fresh and valuable improvement prospects, particularly in areas where processes intersect with organizational units. This underscores the significance of OCEL 2.0. To delve deeper into this groundbreaking standard, visit https://www.ocel-standard.org. We welcome your feedback! Let us know what you think via ocel@pads.rwth-aachen.de.

Thanks to all the PADS members who contributed to the new standard, especially Alessandro Berti, Istvan Koren, Jan Niklas Adams, Gyunam Park, Benedikt Knopp, Nina Graves, Majid Rafiei, Lukas Liß, Leah Tacke Genannt Unterberg, Yisong Zhang, Christopher Schwanen, and Marco Pegoraro. They have helped to create the relational database (SQLite), XML, and JSON formats, the open-access data sets, software libraries, and software tools that make it easy to start using the #OCED standard.

Wil van der Aalst, Aachen, 19-10-2023

References

[1]    W.M.P van der Aalst. Object-Centric Process Mining: Unraveling the Fabric of Real Processes. Mathematics, 11(12):2691, 2023.

[2]    W.M.P. van der Aalst and A. Berti. Discovering Object-Centric Petri Nets. Fundamenta Informaticae, 175(1-4):1–40, 2020.

[3]    W.M.P. van der Aalst. Process Mining: Data Science in Action. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2016.

[4]    W.M.P. van der Aalst and J. Carmona, editors. Process Mining Handbook, volume 448 of Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2022.