Process Variants

Process variants are the different execution paths that cases take through your process. Understanding variants helps you identify exceptions, compare performance between different routes, and optimize for the most common (or most important) paths.

What Are Variants?

A variant is a unique sequence of activities that cases follow through your process. Even though you might have a "standard" process, real execution often varies based on conditions, exceptions, and business rules.

Simple Example

In a loan application process, you might have:

Variant 1 (70% of cases): Standard Path

Application → Credit Check → Risk Assessment → Approval → Disbursement

Variant 2 (20% of cases): Expedited Path

Application → Quick Assessment → Approval → Disbursement

Variant 3 (10% of cases): Rejection Path

Application → Credit Check → Risk Assessment → Rejection

Each variant represents a distinct way cases move through the process.

Why Multiple Variants Exist

Variants emerge from:

• Business rules: High-value loans get extra review
• Exceptions: Problems trigger additional steps
• Manual decisions: Officers choose different paths
• Rework: Cases loop back for corrections
• Special handling: Urgent cases skip steps

Why Variants Matter

Understanding your variants reveals critical insights:

1. Identify the Happy Path

The most common variant (usually 40-70% of cases) is often your intended "standard" process. But what if it's only 30%? That suggests your process has significant variation.

2. Spot Problematic Patterns

Variants with rework loops or many steps often perform poorly:

Application → Credit Check → Risk Assessment → 
Rejected → Resubmit → Risk Assessment → Approval
(Rework variant - takes 3x longer)

3. Optimize What Matters

Focus improvements on:

• High-frequency variants (affect most cases)
• Slow variants (biggest time savings potential)
• Business-critical variants (high-value cases)

Using the Variants View

The variants page provides a simple yet powerful way to explore your process paths.

Variant Selection

The sidebar shows all discovered variants, sorted by frequency (most common first). Each variant displays:

• Variant number: A unique identifier (#1, #2, etc.)
• Case count: How many cases followed this path
• Percentage: What proportion of total cases this represents

Use checkboxes to select which variants to visualize on the process map.

Selection Controls

Select/Deselect Individual Variants Click the checkbox next to any variant to include or exclude it from the visualization.

Select All Use the "Select All" checkbox to quickly select or deselect all variants at once.

Highlight on Hover When a variant is selected, hover over the eye icon to temporarily highlight that variant's path on the process map. This helps you see exactly which edges and nodes belong to that specific variant.

Process Map Visualization

The main area shows a combined process graph of all selected variants. The graph displays:

• Nodes: All activities included in your selected variants
• Edges: All transitions between activities
• Combined metrics: Aggregated counts across selected variants

When you hover over a variant's eye icon, its specific path is highlighted on the graph, making it easy to trace individual variant flows even when viewing multiple variants together.

Status Information

The top-left corner shows:

• How many variants are currently selected (e.g., "3 of 12 variants selected")
• Total objects covered by the selection
• Percentage of total cases represented

Common Variant Patterns

Recognizing these patterns helps you understand your process:

Linear Progression

Simple, straightforward path:

A → B → C → D → E
(No branches, no loops)

Meaning: Predictable, well-defined process

Early Termination

Process ends before reaching final step:

A → B → C → End
vs.
A → B → C → D → E → End

Meaning: Rejection, cancellation, or early completion

Skip Patterns

Some steps are bypassed:

A → B → D → E  (skips C)

Meaning: Conditional logic, business rules, automation

Rework Loops

Activities repeat:

A → B → C → B → C → D
(B and C repeat)

Meaning: Corrections, rejections, iterative refinement

Parallel Execution

Variants where different steps happen in different orders:

Variant 1: A → B → C → D
Variant 2: A → C → B → D

Meaning: Independent activities, flexible ordering

Escalation Paths

Extra steps for special cases:

Standard: A → B → C
Escalated: A → B → Manager Review → Director Review → C

Meaning: Approval hierarchies, risk management

Variant Analysis Best Practices

Start with the Top 5

Focus on the most frequent variants first:

1. Identify your top 5 variants
2. Understand why they differ
3. Select them to compare their paths visually
4. Look for unnecessary complexity

Look for Unexpected Patterns

Question variants that seem wrong:

• Steps in unexpected order
• Critical steps being skipped
• Excessive rework
• Inconsistent with policy

Use Selection Strategically

Compare similar variants: Select variants #1 and #2 to see how the most common paths differ.

Isolate outliers: Deselect all but the rare variants to focus on exceptions.

Focus on volume: Select only the top 3 variants to see the paths that affect most of your cases.

Using Variants for Improvement

Identify Standardization Opportunities

Question: Why do we have 15 variants when we designed one process?

Action:

• Analyze what causes variation
• Standardize where appropriate
• Document legitimate exceptions

Reduce Rework

Question: Why do some variants show loops?

Action:

• Identify common rework triggers
• Improve upstream quality
• Add validation checks earlier

Optimize Common Paths

Question: Can we make the most frequent variant faster?

Action:

• Focus on the dominant variant
• Remove unnecessary steps
• Automate manual activities

Next Steps

Now that you understand variants, continue your process exploration:

Analyze Your Process Map

• Process Map - See detailed node and edge metrics

Get AI Insights

• AI-Generated Insights - Let AI analyze your variants
• AI Co-Pilot - Ask "Why do we have so many variants?"

Advanced Analysis

• Filters & Exploration - Drill down into specific scenarios
• Event Groups - Simplify variant views