Microsoft Power Automate Process Mining - New Features

Power Automate represents Microsoft's solution for optimizing and automating routine tasks – a platform previously known as Microsoft Flow. The market for robotic process automation (RPA) software is currently experiencing significant growth, and Microsoft is actively enhancing its own offering. Recently, the company introduced Power Automate Desktop, leveraging its acquisition of Softomotive, enabling users to automate processes within traditional desktop applications, for instance. Following a period of preview access, Power Automate Desktop is now widely available.

However, the primary announcement today centers around the launch of a new feature, Process Advisor, which is currently in preview as part of the Power Automate platform. This innovative process mining tool establishes a collaborative workspace where both developers and business professionals can cooperate in the creation of new automations.

The core concept is that individuals working directly with business processes possess the most comprehensive understanding of how those processes function. Process Advisor allows these users to submit recordings demonstrating how they handle tasks, such as processing a refund, and share these recordings with developers, who may not have specialized knowledge of these procedures.

Equally significant is the ability of such a system to pinpoint inefficiencies within existing processes, identifying areas where automation can accelerate workflows.

Image Credits: Microsoft

“This aligns with a key principle we consistently emphasize for the Power Platform – while it may sound cliché, development is fundamentally a collaborative effort,” explained Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for its Low Code Application Platform. “A major focus for us is facilitating collaboration between individuals who don’t typically work together. This is valuable because it unites business users, who experience the process daily, with specialists capable of building and implementing automation.”

The underlying mechanism involves Power Automate tools capturing user actions and clicks. This data is then uploaded to the cloud, and with as few as five or six recordings, Power Automate can map the process flow. More intricate workflows, or those with numerous variations, will likely require a larger number of recordings to accurately represent the process.

Image Credits: Microsoft

As Lamanna pointed out, constructing these workflows and process maps can also assist organizations in evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of their automation efforts. “This type of map is beneficial for building automation, but also for quantifying the ROI of each automation because it provides the time taken for each step,” Lamanna stated. “We believe Process Advisor will be a crucial driver of adoption for these low-code/no-code technologies. It can effectively guide you toward areas where investment, training, application development, AI implementation, or RPA with Power Automate are most worthwhile.”

Lamanna drew a parallel to the emergence of digital advertising, which, for the first time, enabled marketers to measure the ROI of their advertising spend.

The new process mining features within Power Automate are currently available for preview.