Mediating between modeled and observed behavior : the quest for the "right" process

Operational processes leave trails in the information systems supporting them. Such event data are the starting point for process mining – an emerging scienti¿c discipline relating modeled and observed behavior. Whereas an event log describes example behavior of the underlying process, a process model aims to describe an abstraction of the same process. Models may be descriptive or normative. Descriptive models aim to describe the underlying process and are used for discussion, performance analysis, obtaining insights, and prediction. Normative models describe the desired behavior and are used for work¿ow management, system con¿guration, auditing, compliance management, and conformance checking. Differences between modeled and observed behavior may point to undesirable deviations or inadequate models. In this paper, we discuss challenges related to ¿nding the "right" process, i.e., the process model that describes the real underlying process or a process that behaves as desired.