The deviation the dashboard already shows — a delay, a difference, an expiry — becomes a case with a named owner and a decision recorded with its rationale. Where action is required, it is carried out before the outcome is confirmed through the source agreed for that metric.
01 · The problem
The report does its job: it surfaces the delay, the difference, the expiry or the spending beyond plan. What happens next is not in the dashboard. Someone has to look at the number, work out what caused it, decide whether action is needed, ask for the correction from whoever can make it, and check that the outcome was recorded where it matters.
That stretch usually lives in a monthly review, a set of minutes and a list of open items that lasts until the next meeting. The same deviation reappears in the following period, and nobody can reconstruct whether it was reviewed, whether anything was decided, or whether it simply happened again.
Follow-up runs on whatever is already at hand: the Microsoft Power BI report or the corporate reporting tool that surfaces the deviation, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet where someone copies the month’s cases so they do not get lost, and an email asking the responsible area to explain. Each of these does a useful job, and none of them records who took ownership of the deviation, what was decided, or what evidence closed it.
Even when the data is correct, the report neither assigns the response nor verifies it. What is missing is someone to take the deviation on, decide what to do about it, and close it with evidence.
02 · The solution
Every deviation that meets the agreed criterion becomes a case that follows a set route: it is opened with its reason and its source data point, assigned to the owner who can act on it, reviewed against the affected business object, decided on record with a rationale, acted on where an action applies, and confirmed by the source agreed for that metric.
There are two explicit ways to open a case: a person raises it from what the report showed them, or an integration configured with the organization raises it from the designated source for that metric. That connection is scoped and built as part of the engagement; it is never assumed to be available for any particular reporting tool.
A metric never stands on its own here: in the Operational Graph it is tied to the business object behind it — the invoice, the order, the contract, the asset or the service — to the area accountable for it, and to the source where the outcome is confirmed. BPMflow runs the workflow itself — cases, assignment, due dates, authorizations and evidence — so the report keeps doing what it does well while accountability for acting sits inside the process.
A report of held invoices is one example: the review pins down the reason, brings procurement and the receiving team together, and returns the confirmed status. That specific route is set out in Invoice Exception Resolution. Where the deviation is a control finding or an obligation that has changed, the remediation and its evidence are handled in Risk & Control Assurance. Where the metric measures a service against its agreed level, the case belongs in Operational Graph for Service Operations.
03 · Capabilities
Deviations sit in a single queue, each showing its reason, owner, aging and current status: observed, under review, action pending, awaiting confirmation, or closed. Max answers questions about a case within the authorized context: it explains what triggered the signal, shows the evidence on record and offers the history of earlier cases on the same metric.
Sets out what turns a number into a case: the threshold, the aging, the repeat occurrence or the combination agreed for that metric. It also states which deviations are monitored without opening a case at all.
A case is raised either by a person acting on what the report showed them, or by an integration configured with the organization against the designated source for that metric. In both cases the record shows who or what raised it, and on which data point.
Routes the case to the area accountable for the number and to the operational owner who can act on the affected object, based on the type of deviation, the legal entity and the amount, with a committed due date.
The case carries the invoice, the order, the contract, the asset or the service behind the deviation, not just the aggregate figure. The review works on the underlying transaction, not on a cell in the report.
Records what was decided and why: a confirmed deviation with an agreed action, an explained deviation with no corrective action, or a signal dismissed because the criterion did not reflect how the business actually runs — with the author and the date it was decided.
Captures the confirmation from the source agreed for that metric — the system of record for the data, or an authorized owner — and retains what was detected, who was involved and what evidence supported the closure.
04 · Roles
Owns the metric and the criterion that opens a case.
What they see
Every deviation in the period alongside the criterion that opened it, which ones already have a case, which ones do not, and how long each has been outstanding.
What they do
Opens the case, or confirms one raised through an integration, records the criterion applied, and tracks the aging of anything that is not moving.
Accountable to the organization for the number.
What they see
Their open cases by reason, aging and assigned owner, each with the business object behind the deviation.
What they do
Decides what applies — an action, an explanation or a dismissal — assigns an owner and a due date, and stands behind the rationale on record.
Carries out the correction inside their process.
What they see
The action assigned to them with its due date, the affected object, the history of the case and the evidence expected at closure.
What they do
Corrects what caused the deviation, records what was done and attaches the supporting evidence — or returns the case with the obstacle set out.
Signs off the outcome in the agreed source.
What they see
Cases awaiting confirmation, each with the proposed outcome, its supporting evidence and the metric it feeds back into.
What they do
Confirms the status in the system of record for the data, or through the route defined for that metric — or sends the case back with a specific observation on record.
05 · Implementation
Implementation starts from a metric the organization already tracks: the minimum context for that first workflow is enough — no architecture project up front, and no redesign of the dashboard.
1 · Agree on the outcome
Which metrics are in scope, which criterion opens a case, who is accountable for each reason, what the due date is, and what counts as closed in each of the three outcomes.
2 · Map the context and connect the sources
The metric is linked to the object behind it and to the source that confirms the outcome. Raising cases through an integration is scoped and built with the organization, metric by metric, against the source that applies.
3 · Test the workflow and adopt it
The workflow is tested against the current period’s deviations, and the team tunes criteria and due dates to avoid opening cases that require no follow-up. Day-to-day operation then stays with the client team.
06 · Typical scenarios
What changes from one metric to the next is the criterion that opens the case, the area accountable for the number and the source that confirms closure. The examples below are illustrative: metrics and thresholds are agreed with each organization.
A deviation is closed once someone has taken it on, someone has decided what to do about it, and the outcome has been confirmed where it belongs. The practical way in is one specific metric and the criterion that opens its cases.
From Reporting to Action is an EAFlow cross-industry solution on the Operational Graph, supported by BPMflow automation capabilities. The report and the dashboard retain their role — surfacing the deviation in time — and this solution covers what happens next. The metrics, criteria and scenarios on this page are illustrative: they are agreed with each organization, as is the source that confirms each closure.
