Celonis Alternative? Why ClearWork Gets You Results in Days, Not Months

Avery Brooks — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:48:02 +0000

Here’s a draft for a dev.to post based on the article “Celonis Alternative – ClearWork – Get Up and Running in Days, Not Months”.

Celonis Alternative? Why ClearWork Gets You Results in Days, Not Months
If your job involves process mapping, discovery, or automation in SaaS-heavy environments, you might have felt the pain of waiting weeks (or months!) to get real visibility from process mining platforms. Enter ClearWork, a new take on process intelligence that lets teams see real user journeys and get actionable maps in days.

TL;DR
ClearWork offers automatic process mapping and task mining by capturing browser-based user actions—across any SaaS app—so you get value almost immediately.

Celonis remains a leader in classic process mining for deep-dive data, but often requires event-log engineering before showing insight.

What Celonis Is Great At
Process Intelligence leader (named a Leader in Forrester’s Process Intelligence Software, Q3 2025).

Object-centric process mining: Can map complex, multi-object journeys (orders, deliveries, invoices) in ERP/CRM systems.

But… Requires getting the right data out of your systems, transforming it into event logs, and modeling—work that almost always needs IT/data-teams upfront.

How ClearWork Is Different
UI-Level Capture: Rather than pulling logs from backend systems, ClearWork records what users actually do in their browser (context, actions, dwell time, etc.).

Automatic Mapping: Real user journeys are mapped directly, with bottlenecks and friction flagged instantly.

No Waiting on IT: Minimal setup (browser extension, privacy guardrails), so ops teams can lead the charge.

Best for SaaS Work: Especially powerful if your workflows span multiple cloud apps (think quote-to-cash jumping between Salesforce, CPQ, and support platforms).

Fast Time-to-First-Insight: Get useful visibility in days—then plug in system-level data over time.

Quick Comparison
Area ClearWork Celonis
Primary data path UI activity capture (browser) System-level connectors + event-log models
Initial setup Lightweight extension = live in days Connect/build data model, transform → insight after modeling
Process modeling As-is maps, to-be blueprints Advanced, object-centric, multi-object
Best for SaaS-heavy, fast discovery, AI agents System-of-record, deep KPIs, complex orgs
Time-to-value Days Weeks-to-months (varies)
Skills required Ops + analyst (little IT) Data/IT, data modeling, governance
When to Pick Each
Choose ClearWork if you need:

Immediate process visibility across web apps.

Fast change impact analysis for adoption, onboarding, or optimization.

To orchestrate AI/agent-driven guidance or automation with real-world context.

Choose Celonis if you need:

Deep dives into object-centric ERP/CRM data.

Complex, enterprise-grade KPIs with governed connectors.

System-of-record analysis and modeling.

Often, teams use both: Start with UI-level mapping to discover and prioritize, then go deeper with data modeling as needed.

What “Days, Not Months” Looks Like
Day 0-2: Enable browser capture, define flows & privacy.

Day 3-7: Kick off guided recordings, instantly see as-is maps & pain points.

Day 8-14: Draft future-state blueprints, publish a quick-wins plan, guide users in-browser.

FAQs
Is ClearWork a process mining tool?
Not quite—ClearWork is process intelligence via UI-level task mining, mapped instantly, then enriched with system data over time.

Do they compete?
Sometimes. Many orgs use ClearWork for initial mapping/discovery, then rely on Celonis for deeper, system-level analysis.

Ready to see your workflow maps by Friday?
Check out ClearWork’s free pilot offer and experience true “days, not months” process visibility.

🚀 Looking for Feedback on ClearWork: Real-World Process Mapping, Future-State Design & Agentic Workflows

Avery Brooks — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:45:48 +0000

Hey dev.to community!

I’m excited to share a project I’ve been working on—ClearWork, a platform built to capture how work really happens, design better processes, and enable AI-augmented execution in modern teams. We’re looking for your honest feedback, questions, and ideas!

What is ClearWork?
ClearWork is an end-to-end transformation platform that:

Maps real user activity (not just interviews or self-reports)

Designs the future state with AI-assisted requirements and process diagrams

Drives adoption in-app and orchestrates AI agents for real workflow improvements

No keylogging, no field contents, no screenshots—just actionable events and metadata with a privacy-first approach.

Key Features
Live Process Maps: Instantly visualize actual workflows and compare variants. Find bottlenecks, delays, and compliance drift.

AI-Supported Future-State Design: Automatically draft user stories, swim lanes, and requirements directly from observed work.

Adoption & Agentic Orchestration: Contextual in-browser guidance for users; coordinate the actions of AI agents with auditability and ROI tracking.

Continuous Improvement: Iterate based on real usage metrics and feedback.

Why we built this
Most process tools stop at diagrams or analytics, and change efforts struggle when “the way things actually work” is unknown. ClearWork grounds transformation and automation in reality, not assumptions—enabling teams to shape better systems and make changes that stick.

What Makes Us Different
No “lift-and-shift”: We work to fix broken processes, not just automate the past.

Privacy-centric data capture: Only events + metadata, full control over what’s collected.

Measurable outcomes: Track real improvements in cycle time, adoption, and business value.

How Can dev.to Help?
What stands out from this approach (good or bad)?

What blockers do you foresee for teams considering something like this?

If you’ve built, implemented, or evaluated process mapping/automation tools, what’s missing (feature or philosophy)?

Anything unclear or that you'd like to see clarified in the product or story?

We’d love to hear your reactions, concerns, or war stories—raw or refined!

If you’re interested in a test drive or want to follow along, check out clearwork.io/products and let us know what you think.

Thanks so much!
— The ClearWork Team

DEV Community: Avery Brooks

Celonis Alternative? Why ClearWork Gets You Results in Days, Not Months

🚀 Looking for Feedback on ClearWork: Real-World Process Mapping, Future-State Design & Agentic Workflows