While records and metrics provide considerable information about a business, some information is only available by connecting the records that belong to the same business process. Virtually all business activities do not happen by themselves but rather, in connection with some process. The process could be automated, completely implied, or a combination of both.

For example, consider a simple process:

• Receive Order

• Ship Order

• Send Invoice

• Collect Payment

You can use metrics and records to calculate the revenue, number of orders, average order size, and so on.

However, you may also want to know what the average time is between receiving the order and sending the invoice; which orders require invoices to be sent several times; and how much time is lost as a result; or which orders are stalled in the system for more than 24 hours.

Unlike Business Process Management tools, which require the complete and detailed definition of the process to function, Insight doesn’t need this level of detail. You only need to identify the key milestones in your business process that provide sufficient information on how the processes are running. Moreover, the process model in Insight doesn’t even have to be accurate; it simply gives Insight the starting point for analysis. Process Chart and Swimlane charts show you how the processes are executed in your organization.