Event log
Event logs function as a diagnostic instrument for investigating an organization's processes and form the basis for uncovering these processes. Each entry in the event log represents an event or action that occurred during the execution of a process.
Event logs record a set of events. The events are listed in tables together with their attributes. The event attributes are represented by individual columns.
In a typical event log, each row corresponds to an event. An event log must include the following columns:
Case ID or Process Instance Identifier (for example, patient id, order number, and claim number)
This field uniquely identifies each instance or case of the process. It enables you to group related events together, making it possible to track the entire sequence of activities for a specific process instance.
Activity or Event Name (for example, approve, reject, request, and send)
This field describes the specific activity or event that occurred. It provides information about what action was performed within the process.
Timestamp (for example, 2015-08-18T06:36:40)
This field records the date and time when each event occurred. Timestamps are essential for analyzing the sequence of events, measuring the duration of activities, and understanding the temporal aspects of the process.
In an event log, each event refers to a case, an activity, and a point in time. An event log can be seen as a collection of cases, and a case can be seen as a trace or sequence of events.
An event log can include additional columns (attributes), such as resource, transaction type, age, costs.
Event logs can be extracted from a variety of IT systems, for example:
A database system (patient data in a hospital)
A business suite/ERP system (SAP, Oracle, etc.)
An open API providing data from websites or social media
CRM, Service Management, BPM, LOB, Call Centers, and more.
Event logs can be available in different formats, for example:
A comma-separated values (CSV) file or spreadsheet
A transaction log (for example, a trading system)
A message log (for example, from IBM middleware)