Explaining process dynamics: a Process Mining Context Taxonomy for sense-making

Abstract Process mining research focuses on analyzing, visualizing, and predicting business process performance. However, the interpretation of process mining results often overlooks the critical role of context, limiting the ability to derive meaningful insights into process dynamics. In this paper, we develop a Process Mining Context Taxonomy that identifies and categorizes contextual factors influencing process mining outcomes across three levels: process-immediate, organization-internal, and organization-external context. Grounded in existing context frameworks and empirical insights from routine dynamics, the taxonomy provides a structured approach for incorporating context into process mining analyses. We demonstrate its applicability through a case study in a financial institution and evaluate its usability in a user study involving process mining experts. Based on these findings, we propose two usage paths to guide process analysts in interpreting process mining results. Our study highlights the need for contextualization in process mining, offers actionable guidance to enhance the interpretability of process mining efforts, and opens up promising avenues for future research.