Overview
The Activity Performed Once filter selects cases where a specified activity was executed exactly one time. This case-level filter examines each case's complete activity sequence and returns only those cases where the selected activity appears exactly once - not zero times, and not more than once. The filter is particularly useful for identifying cases that followed standard single-occurrence patterns, detecting anomalies where activities were repeated or skipped, and ensuring process compliance.
Common Uses
- Process Compliance: Verify that critical one-time activities (like contract signing or initial approval) occur exactly once per case.
- Quality Control: Identify cases where unique activities are performed the expected single time, indicating proper process execution.
- Exception Detection: Find cases with unique activity patterns that differ from processes where activities are typically repeated or absent.
- Data Validation: Ensure that certain activities like case initiation or final closure are not duplicated or missing within cases.
- Workflow Analysis: Understand which cases follow expected single-occurrence patterns for specific process steps.
- Audit Requirements: Confirm that auditable events like final sign-off or completion certification happen exactly once.
Settings
Activity Value: Select the activity name you want to check for single occurrence. In the dropdown menu, you will see available activity names along with frequency statistics. The filter will return all cases where the selected activity was performed exactly once.
Note: The activity name comparison uses exact string matching. If you misspell an activity name, the filter's validation system will suggest the closest matching activity.
Examples
Example 1: Finding Properly Signed Contracts
Scenario: You want to identify all contract cases where the signature activity occurred exactly once, indicating proper execution without duplicates or omissions.
Settings:
- Activity Value: "Sign Contract"
Result: The filter returns only cases that contain exactly one "Sign Contract" activity. Cases with zero signatures or multiple signatures are excluded.
Insights: This helps identify properly executed contracts. Cases excluded by this filter may indicate process problems:
- Zero signatures suggest incomplete contracts requiring follow-up
- Multiple signatures could indicate rework or data quality issues
Example 2: Validating Single Approval Steps
Scenario: You need to find cases where the final approval was granted exactly once, ensuring no duplicate approvals or missing approvals occurred.
Settings:
- Activity Value: "Final Approval"
Result: The filter selects only cases with a single "Final Approval" event.
Insights: These cases represent standard process flow. This analysis helps:
- Confirm proper approval workflow execution
- Identify cases requiring investigation (filtered out due to 0 or 2+ approvals)
- Validate that approval controls are functioning correctly
- Detect potential approval bypass or duplicate approval issues
Example 3: Detecting Single Quality Inspections
Scenario: You want to find manufacturing cases where quality inspection was performed exactly once, as required by standard procedures.
Settings:
- Activity Value: "Quality Inspection"
Result: The filter returns cases with exactly one "Quality Inspection" event.
Insights: This reveals:
- Cases following standard quality procedures
- Compliance with single-inspection requirements
- Proper resource allocation (inspections not repeated unnecessarily)
- Cases excluded may need attention (no inspection or multiple re-inspections)
Example 4: Verifying Unique Order Creation
Scenario: Identify orders where the order creation activity occurred exactly once, indicating clean order entry without duplicates or missing creation events.
Settings:
- Activity Value: "Create Order"
Result: The filter selects cases where "Create Order" appears exactly once.
Insights: These cases indicate:
- Proper order initiation process
- No duplicate order creation errors
- Clean data entry practices
- Cases filtered out may indicate system errors or data quality problems
Output
The filter returns a new dataset containing only the cases where the specified activity was performed exactly once. Each returned case preserves all its original events and attributes.
Cases are excluded if:
- The specified activity never occurred (zero occurrences)
- The specified activity occurred more than once (two or more occurrences)
If no cases match the criteria, the filter returns an empty result set.
Technical Notes
- Filter Type: Case-level filter (removes entire cases, not individual events)
- Performance: O(n*m) time complexity where n is number of cases and m is average events per case
- Activity Matching: Uses exact string matching for activity comparison
- Null Handling: Empty or null activity values in events are not counted
- Validation: Automatically suggests similar activity names if the specified activity is not found in the dataset
This documentation is part of the mindzieStudio process mining platform.