01 — Two ways to see a process
Observation or conversation.
Task mining is a category of software that records what people do on their computers, mouse clicks, keystrokes, the applications and screens in use, and derives the sequence of steps from those recordings. Process mining, a related category, reads event logs from IT systems instead. Both see the process as it leaves traces in software.
patchley sees the process as the people who run it describe it. A claims handler explains what happens when a claim comes in, which system she opens, whom she asks when the policy file is missing, and patchley turns that into a BPMN 2.0 diagram while she talks. The source is the conversation, the meeting recording or the document, not the desktop.
Screen and click recording task mining
- Sees: applications, screens, clicks, time between them
- Needs: an agent on each desktop, a recording period
- Misses: phone calls, corridor questions, the reason behind a step
Conversation and document patchley
- Sees: roles, steps, decisions, systems and documents as described
- Needs: the people who run the process, or their documents
- Misses: what nobody mentions, until the next question
02 — What each approach sees
Clicks show the how. People explain the why.
Recording is good at the parts of a process that happen inside software: which screens are opened in which order, how often a case bounces between two applications, where a copy-and-paste step hides. For a process that lives entirely in one or two systems, that is a precise picture.
Most business processes are not like that. A claim is discussed on the phone, a credit decision is argued in a meeting, a supplier is approved because someone walked over to procurement. The reasons for a step, the exceptions, the workarounds people are slightly embarrassed about: none of that leaves a trace on a screen. It comes out when you ask.
That is why patchley is built around the conversation. With responses switched on, patchley asks follow-up questions while people describe, the diagram shows the current understanding on the screen, and the people in the room correct it immediately. The result is the process as the organisation understands it, agreed by the people who own it, which is what you need before you document, improve or automate it.
Where the two meet
The approaches are not mutually exclusive. If your organisation already has recordings or logs, they are useful input for the questions you ask in the interview. patchley does not read task-mining data or event logs; it reads what people say and what documents contain.
Recording shows the how software side
- Which screens open in which order
- How often a case bounces between applications
- Where a copy-and-paste step hides
Conversation shows the why people side
- Why a step exists and who decides
- The exceptions and the workarounds
- The phone call and the walk to procurement
03 — Privacy and the works council
Nothing is installed on anyone's desktop.
Recording employees' screens and clicks is, in many organisations, a matter for the works council and the data-protection officer: it touches the question of monitoring individual performance, and it usually needs an agreement before it starts. We state this as a fact about the category, not as legal advice; the rules depend on your country and your organisation.
patchley does not record screens, clicks or keystrokes, and installs nothing on employees' computers. What it processes is what you give it: the audio of an interview or workshop, a meeting that patchley is invited to, a document you upload. The people whose process is captured are the ones describing it, and they see the diagram as it forms.
For the meeting assistant that applies in the same way. patchley joins a Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex or Google Meet call when you paste the link, is visible as a participant and records only between Start and Stop. What was said lands as notes, and one step turns them into a draft of the map. Where the data is processed and what leaves patchley is described on the security and data page.
Nothing on desktops
No agent, no screen or click recording, no keystrokes. patchley runs in the browser of the person who uses it.
Visible in meetings
In a call patchley is a visible participant that says hello in the chat and records only between Start and Stop.
You hand over the material
Interview audio, a document, a meeting you invite it to. The people whose process it is describe it themselves.
Whether and how a recording tool needs an agreement depends on your country and organisation. We describe the category; we do not give legal advice.
04 — Sources
What patchley captures from.
05 — When to choose which
A fair rule of thumb.
If your question is "how long does each click take and where do cases bounce between systems", recording tools are built for that.
If your question is "how does this process actually run, who decides what, and can we agree on it before we change it", the answer sits with the people, and patchley is built to get it out of them and into a diagram, an analysis and a deck.
Many organisations end up needing both at different times. We would rather you choose well than choose us for the wrong question. Bring one real process to a 30-minute call and we will tell you honestly whether patchley fits.