---
title: Process Mining Spectrum (Refined Framework)
type: concept
tags: [bpm, process-mining, framework, cartography, auditing, navigation]
sources: ["[[sources/2011-vanderaalst-process-mining-book]]"]
created: 2026-04-20
updated: 2026-04-20
---

# Process Mining Spectrum

Van der Aalst's **refined process mining framework** ([[sources/2011-vanderaalst-process-mining-book]], §10.1), a 3×2 reframing of the classical three-type taxonomy (discovery / conformance / enhancement).

## Two axes

**Axis 1: what is the model *used for*?** — three activities:

1. **Cartography** — build and maintain a *map* of the process. Includes discovery and enhancement (adding organisational / time / data perspectives). Analogy: drawing the street map.
2. **Auditing** — compare actual behaviour against a reference model. Includes conformance checking and compliance. Analogy: checking whether cars obey the traffic rules the map prescribes.
3. **Navigation** — use the model *prescriptively* to guide action: simulate scenarios, predict arrival time for a running case, recommend the next activity. Analogy: TomTom/Google Maps navigating an actual journey.

**Axis 2: is the analysis *offline* or *online*?**

- **Offline** — retrospective, post-mortem analysis of completed traces.
- **Online** — live, as events stream in.

## The 3×2 grid

|                     | Offline                               | Online (runtime)                       |
|---------------------|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| **Cartography**     | Discover a model from a past log; add KPI overlays | Update the map as the log grows |
| **Auditing**        | Retrospective conformance report     | Online **detect**: alert on deviations as they happen |
| **Navigation**      | Simulation, what-if scenarios         | **Predict** remaining time / outcome; **recommend** next action |

The six cells span the whole **process mining spectrum**. The PPM literature inhabits the Navigation-Online cell; conformance work inhabits both Auditing cells; classical discovery inhabits Cartography-Offline.

## Why the refinement matters

The classical three-type taxonomy (discovery / conformance / enhancement) describes **inputs and outputs** of mining. The refined framework describes **use**. The latter is what practitioners and tool vendors care about: a ProM plug-in is classified by whether it produces a map, audits compliance, or guides navigation. It also makes the runtime/online dimension first-class, which is what enables [[concepts/operational-support]] and downstream [[concepts/predictive-process-monitoring|PPM]].

## Related
[[methods/process-mining-basics]] · [[concepts/operational-support]] · [[concepts/conformance-checking]] · [[concepts/process-discovery]] · [[sources/2012-vanderaalst-process-mining-manifesto]] (older three-type taxonomy)