🔍

Concatenate Attributes

Enrichments

Overview

The Concatenate Attributes enrichment combines multiple attribute values into a single text string, creating a new attribute that represents the joined values. This powerful text manipulation operator enables you to create composite identifiers, generate descriptive labels, and build meaningful text representations from multiple data fields. The enrichment intelligently handles both case and event attributes, automatically determining the appropriate level for the new concatenated attribute based on the source attributes selected.

In process mining, the ability to combine attribute values is essential for creating unique identifiers, building human-readable descriptions, and establishing relationships between different data elements. The Concatenate Attributes enrichment uses a pipe separator (" | ") between values, ensuring clear visual distinction while maintaining readability. When attributes have no value, the enrichment substitutes "No Value" to maintain consistent formatting and prevent confusion from empty segments. This approach makes the enrichment particularly valuable for creating audit trails, composite keys for matching operations, and comprehensive case descriptions that combine multiple business dimensions.

Common Uses

  • Create composite keys by combining multiple identifier fields (Order_ID + Line_Number)
  • Generate descriptive labels that combine category and subcategory information
  • Build full names from separate first name, middle name, and last name attributes
  • Construct location identifiers by combining region, country, and city attributes
  • Create audit descriptions that combine user, timestamp, and action attributes
  • Assemble product descriptions from brand, model, and variant attributes
  • Generate case summaries by combining status, priority, and category fields

Settings

Filter (Optional): Apply filters to limit which cases receive the concatenated attribute. When filters are applied, only cases matching the filter criteria will have the concatenation performed. This is useful when you want to create composite values only for specific subsets of your data, such as cases from certain departments or time periods. The filter operates at the case level, even when concatenating event attributes.

New Attribute Name: Specify the name for the new attribute that will store the concatenated result. Choose a descriptive name that clearly indicates what information is being combined. For example, use "Full_Product_Description" when concatenating product attributes, or "Complete_Address" when joining location fields. The name must be unique and cannot conflict with existing attributes in your dataset.

Attribute Names: Select multiple attributes whose values you want to concatenate together. The enrichment will join all selected attributes in the order they are selected, using " | " as the separator. You can select any combination of string, numeric, or boolean attributes. The enrichment supports both case attributes and event attributes, though all selected attributes should typically be at the same level for meaningful results. Numeric and boolean values are automatically converted to text for concatenation.

Examples

Example 1: Creating Composite Purchase Order Identifiers

Scenario: In a procurement process, you need to create unique identifiers that combine the vendor code, purchase order number, and fiscal year to ensure global uniqueness across multiple systems and time periods.

Settings:

  • Filter: None (apply to all cases)
  • New Attribute Name: PO_Composite_ID
  • Attribute Names: Vendor_Code, PO_Number, Fiscal_Year

Output: Creates a new case attribute "PO_Composite_ID" containing the concatenated values. For a case with:

  • Vendor_Code: "SUPP-0247"
  • PO_Number: "PO-2024-8831"
  • Fiscal_Year: 2024

The PO_Composite_ID would be: "SUPP-0247 | PO-2024-8831 | 2024"

Insights: This composite identifier enables unique tracking across systems, simplifies matching with external data sources, and provides a human-readable reference that includes all key identifying information in a single field.

Example 2: Building Complete Customer Addresses

Scenario: In a delivery process, you need to combine separate address components into a single field for routing optimization and delivery documentation purposes.

Settings:

  • Filter: None
  • New Attribute Name: Full_Delivery_Address
  • Attribute Names: Street_Address, City, State, Postal_Code, Country

Output: Creates a new case attribute "Full_Delivery_Address" with all address components. For a case with:

  • Street_Address: "123 Main Street"
  • City: "Springfield"
  • State: "IL"
  • Postal_Code: "62701"
  • Country: "USA"

The Full_Delivery_Address would be: "123 Main Street | Springfield | IL | 62701 | USA"

Insights: The complete address string simplifies geographic analysis, enables easier integration with mapping services, and provides delivery teams with all location information in a single, readable field.

Example 3: Creating Product Description Labels

Scenario: In an inventory management process, you want to create comprehensive product descriptions by combining brand, category, model, and color attributes for improved searchability and reporting.

Settings:

  • Filter: Category = "Electronics"
  • New Attribute Name: Product_Full_Description
  • Attribute Names: Brand, Product_Category, Model_Number, Color, Size

Output: Creates a new case attribute "Product_Full_Description" for electronic items. For a case with:

  • Brand: "TechCorp"
  • Product_Category: "Laptop"
  • Model_Number: "X500-PRO"
  • Color: "Silver"
  • Size: "15-inch"

The Product_Full_Description would be: "TechCorp | Laptop | X500-PRO | Silver | 15-inch"

If the Color attribute is missing, it would show: "TechCorp | Laptop | X500-PRO | No Value | 15-inch"

Insights: These consolidated descriptions improve product searchability, enable better categorization in reports, and provide complete product information for customer service representatives in a single field.

Example 4: Building Audit Trail Descriptions

Scenario: In a financial approval process, you need to create comprehensive audit entries that combine the approver name, approval timestamp, department, and decision for compliance tracking.

Settings:

  • Filter: Process_Step = "Approval"
  • New Attribute Name: Approval_Audit_Entry
  • Attribute Names: Approver_Name, Approval_Date, Department, Decision, Amount_Approved

Output: Creates a new case attribute "Approval_Audit_Entry" for approval steps. For a case with:

  • Approver_Name: "John Smith"
  • Approval_Date: "2024-03-15"
  • Department: "Finance"
  • Decision: "Approved"
  • Amount_Approved: 50000

The Approval_Audit_Entry would be: "John Smith | 2024-03-15 | Finance | Approved | 50000"

Insights: This consolidated audit trail simplifies compliance reporting, enables quick review of approval patterns, and provides complete approval context in a single searchable field.

Example 5: Creating Location-Based Service Identifiers

Scenario: In a healthcare process, you need to combine facility, department, and room information to create unique location identifiers for patient routing and resource allocation.

Settings:

  • Filter: None
  • New Attribute Name: Service_Location_ID
  • Attribute Names: Facility_Name, Building, Department, Room_Number

Output: Creates a new case attribute "Service_Location_ID" with complete location information. For a case with:

  • Facility_Name: "Central Medical Center"
  • Building: "Tower B"
  • Department: "Radiology"
  • Room_Number: "B-201"

The Service_Location_ID would be: "Central Medical Center | Tower B | Radiology | B-201"

Insights: These location identifiers streamline patient navigation, improve resource planning by location, and enable analysis of service patterns across different facility areas.

Output

The Concatenate Attributes enrichment creates a single new attribute at either the case or event level, depending on the source attributes selected. If all selected attributes are case attributes, the new concatenated attribute is created at the case level. If any selected attribute is an event attribute, the new attribute is created at the event level to preserve the granularity of the event data.

The output attribute is always of type String and contains the concatenated values separated by " | " (space-pipe-space). This separator ensures visual clarity while being unlikely to appear naturally in most business data. When an attribute value is null or missing, the enrichment substitutes "No Value" in that position, maintaining the structure and making it clear which attributes had no data.

The concatenated values maintain their original formatting - numbers remain in their numeric format, dates retain their display format, and boolean values appear as "True" or "False". This preservation of formatting ensures that the concatenated result remains readable and meaningful for business users while maintaining data integrity for downstream processing.

This documentation is part of the mindzie Studio process mining platform.

An error has occurred. This application may no longer respond until reloaded. Reload ??