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INTERVIEW QUESTION:

Give an example of using process-mining insights to justify a re-engineering project

Posted by Adrian M.

Article Rating // 51 Views // 0 Additional Answers & Comments

Categories: Business Analysis, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

ANSWER

Scenario
A mid-size mortgage lender complained that “simple” refinance loans were still taking 22 days on average—well above its advertised 15-day target. Management suspected underwriting staffing was the bottleneck and planned to add headcount. Before approving the budget, the analytics team ran a process-mining study on six months of event logs exported from the loan-origination system (LOS), e-signature platform, and credit bureau calls (2.4 million time-stamped events).

 

1. Discovering the Real Process

Process-mining software reconstructed the actual flows and overlaid performance metrics:

  • Median lead time: 22 days but only 7 hours of value-adding work.
  • Variant explosion: 138 distinct paths; the top 3 covered just 46 % of cases, signalling uncontrolled exceptions.
  • Rework loops: 38 % of loans cycled through “Document Requested → Upload → Missing Docs” at least twice, adding 3.7 days per loop.
  • Idle gaps: After “Credit Pull,” 62 % of files waited >48 hours for an initial review—even for low-risk FICO ≥ 740 borrowers.
 

2. Root-Cause Insights

Drilling into conformance checks showed that “Missing Docs” loops were highly correlated with loans sourced by two particular call-center teams. Text-mined notes revealed those agents were using an outdated checklist. Idle gaps traced to a rules engine that routed every file—even low-risk ones—to the same underwriting queue.

 

3. Re-engineering Proposal

The BA presented a two-pronged redesign:

  • Straight-Through Processing (STP): Auto-approve credit pulls ≥740 FICO & <80 % LTV for an “expedited” queue; introduce robotic validations for income and asset docs.
  • Checklist Modernization: Deploy an in-app wizard that enforces the current documentation checklist before a file can be submitted.

Projected benefits were simulated in the process-mining tool by removing rework loops and idle events:

Metric

As-Is

Simulated Future State

Avg. Lead Time

22 days

11 days

Rework Rate

38 %

8 %

Underwriter Touches

2.6

1.1

The model showed a 33 % capacity release—worth more than three new underwriters.

 

4. Business Case & Sign-off

By quantifying each redesign lever with log-level evidence, the BA framed a clear ROI: $1.2 M annual savings (labor + lock-extension fees) vs. $300 k one-time platform changes. The executive team approved the re-engineering project, cancelling the headcount request and setting a KPI to monitor the live process via continuous process mining.

 

Take-away

Process-mining moved the conversation from anecdotal “we’re swamped” to data-driven proof, allowing the BA to justify a targeted, automation-first re-engineering effort that halved cycle time without adding staff.

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Do your homework prior to the business analysis interview!

Having an idea of the type of questions you might be asked during a business analyst interview will not only give you confidence but it will also help you to formulate your thoughts and to be better prepared to answer the interview questions you might get during the interview for a business analyst position.  Of course, just memorizing a list of business analyst interview questions will not make you a great business analyst but it might just help you get that next job.

 



 




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