Process Mining Log Builder (local_pmlog)

Overview

Process Mining Log Builder is a Moodle local plugin that extracts, normalizes, stores, and exports course event data for process-mining analysis.

The plugin converts Moodle standard log events into a structured activity log that can be reviewed inside Moodle and exported for use in external tools.

Main Features

• Manual log generation at course level


• Background processing through Moodle ad-hoc tasks


• Scheduled execution through Moodle scheduled tasks


• Sequential deduplication with configurable time windows


• Per-student timeline view inside Moodle


• Export in CSV and XES formats


• Export modes for generic, anonymized, and named output

Status

• Version: 1.0.1


• Maturity: STABLE


• Component: local_pmlog

Requirements

• Moodle 4.1 or later


• A PHP version supported by the target Moodle installation


• Moodle cron configured and running

Installation

1. Copy the plugin to local/pmlog.


2. Open Site administration > Notifications.


3. Complete the installation process.

Access

Course Access

Users with the capability local/pmlog:manage can access the plugin from course navigation.

Default allowed archetypes:

• manager


• editingteacher


• teacher

Site Administration

The plugin adds a single administration entry under:

• Site administration > Plugins > Local plugins > Process Mining Log Builder

This page is used to configure scheduled builds.

Manual Processing

At course level, the plugin allows the user to:

• define optional start and end dates;


• limit processing to student actions only;


• enable sequential deduplication;


• enable stricter duplicate removal for the same activity;


• configure deduplication and view-collapse windows;


• generate CSV and XES files in generic, anonymized, and named modes.

When submitted, the process is queued as an ad-hoc task and executed by Moodle cron.

The course page also provides:

• execution status;


• links to the latest export artifacts;


• a summary of the latest run settings;


• event counts by student;


• links to individual student timelines.

Scheduled Processing

Scheduled execution is configured through the administration page described above.

Available options include:

• enabling or disabling scheduled builds;


• selecting the courses to be processed;


• enabling student-only filtering;


• configuring deduplication behavior;


• setting deduplication and view-collapse windows;


• enabling CSV and XES generation in generic, anonymized, and named modes.

The scheduled task is defined in db/tasks.php and, by default, runs daily at 02:00. The schedule can be adjusted through Moodle scheduled task administration.

Stored Data

Normalized events are stored in the {local_pmlog_events} table.

Relevant fields include:

• courseid


• userid


• caseid


• activity


• activitygroup


• timecreated


• cmid


• component


• eventname


• action


• target


• metajson

Case Definition

The plugin groups events by learner within the course. In practice, each exported trace represents one user in one course.

Export Formats

CSV

The CSV export contains:

• caseid


• activity


• timestamp


• userid


• courseid


• cmid


• component


• eventname


• action


• target

Available CSV modes:

• Generic: exports the normalized activity label.


• Anonymized: exports the normalized activity label enriched with an anonymized module marker, such as Quiz open [cmid:42].


• Named: exports the normalized activity label enriched with the real activity name, such as Quiz open: Week 1 Quiz.

XES

The XES export uses one trace per caseid and one event per normalized log row.

Generic XES includes:

• log-level concept:name using a neutral course identifier such as course:123


• trace-level concept:name based on caseid


• event-level concept:name based on the normalized activity


• time:timestamp


• org:resource derived from userid


• userid


• courseid


• optional cmid, activitygroup, component, eventname, action, and target

Additional XES modes:

• Anonymized: enriches the event-level concept:name with an anonymized module marker.


• Named: uses real course names at log and trace level and enriches the event-level concept:name with the real activity name when available.

Privacy

This plugin processes personal data derived from Moodle activity logs.

• It reads event data from Moodle standard logs.


• It stores a normalized copy in {local_pmlog_events}.


• It provides internal timeline views for authorized users.


• CSV and XES exports include numeric user and course identifiers.


• Named exports may include real course and activity names.

The plugin includes a Moodle Privacy API provider.

License

Copyright 2026 rafaxluz

Licensed under the GNU GPL v3 or later.